No matter the season, time of year or area of the country you live in, you’ll want to be prepared for when the rain falls and disrupts your drive time.
Be Cautious
During especially heavy rain or fog, don’t hesitate to pull over to the side of the road or completely off the road until visibility is better.
Braking In The Rain
It’s crucial to slow down when driving in rain. It’s also important to brake properly during rain. Make sure to brake slowly and more softly than usual. Also, brake earlier so that you can warn the person behind you that you are slowing down.
Puddles and Flooding
Try to avoid going through puddles. Stay on the inner area of the road if at all possible. On freeways and highways, large and heavy trucks tend to stay on the outer lanes, making them more susceptible to puddles. Staying on inner lanes of a highway or road, will allow you to avoid many puddles.
Tires
If you live in an area that gets a lot of rain, consider getting special tires that are meant to increase performance, traction and safety when it’s raining. In addition, carrying snow chains is a smart idea should you be in an area where it snows. Rain can suddenly turn to snow, so having chains can be extremely important.
Lights
For extra safety, turn on your headlights during the day, especially if visibility is lessened by fog, mist or heavy rain. Turning on your lights helps your visibility and makes your vehicle much easier to see for other vehicles, especially those in oncoming traffic.
Avoid Flooded Areas
It’s important to avoid flooded areas completely. When you see running water going across a roadway, do not attempt to cross it. Find an alternate route or simply wait.
Allow More Time
If you’re traveling long distances when it’s storming or the forecast is for rainy weather, make sure to leave early and allow plenty of extra time to get to your destination. This will allow you to drive as slow and safe as you need to get there safely.
Don’t forget to exercise caution and common sense when driving in the rain, that’s the most important thing.
Imagine for a moment, that you are flying along a road out on your yearly motorcycle road trip. You have 250 miles to go before you stop for the night, and you see a thunderstorm rolling in. As it looms closer you begin to wonder what to do. A contributing factor in all of this is that you forgot to pack your rain gear. Should you pull over and wait out the storm? Or ride on through to your next stop, and tough it out. You decide to for the latter, and end up spending the rest of your trip miserable, because you have gotten a cold mixed with a sinus infection. If only you had packed your motorcycle rain gear.
The miracles of modern textiles could have saved you the trouble and hassle of a cold. Quality motorcycle rain suits are made from an advanced waterproof technology, 600 Denier nylon. They will have several pockets with full enclosed flaps and Velcro, and even an inner pocket to keep your wallet nice and dry.
With numerous styles and colors to choose from, you can find one that matches your tastes, and still have a comfortable fit. You can purchase a rain suit in either a one piece style or two piece style. The legs should have Velcro and zippers to accommodate the wearing of boots, and the sleeves should have Velcro and zippers as well to help facilitate the wearing of a leather jacket. There should also be a durable heat resistant inner leg lining to protect the rain suit from becoming melted due to high engine and exhaust temperatures. Finding a motorcycle rain suit that has reflective material is also important. This helps to ensure that other drivers see you in bad weather.
When riding in the rain remember to take it slower than normal. Try to keep the turns to a minimum, as you only have two wheels touching the ground, and a condition called hydroplaning can occur very much easier than in a passenger vehicle. Hydroplaning occurs when the water underneath a tire causes the tire to actually float on the water, causing the tire to loose traction and stability. Be sure to observe the amount of rain on the road, as even a couple of inches of rain can cause hydroplaning.
Finally when you arrive at your destination, be sure to treat all of your leather products with a good polish and leather preserver like, Skidmore’s Biker Motorcycle Edition Leather Cream that helps preserve and restore a soft durable quality to the leather. The best time to do this actually is after every rainy ride, or at least once a month.
Whatever the weather that you are riding in, always be sure to stay safe, and have fun. The art of motorcycle riding can be dangerous, but you can help keep it safe if you follow the rules of the road. Be sure to help out your fellow bikers, and always wear head protection.
In many countries, when winter comes, rain soon follows. Some driving students have their road test on that day. They should have practiced for hours and know how to deal with rain. However, some students taking their driving test don’t know how to handle rain driving and fail their test for it. Examiners have noticed that some rain driving mistakes repeat more often than others.
One common mistake is not using the windshield wipers. Every driver should be familiar with car controls and when to use them. Some driving students, especially during their driving test, forget about the wipers and don’t turn them on when it rains. If the situation reaches a point in which there is no visibility through the window, the examiner may fail the student.
Another rain related error examinees make is not turning on their headlights. During rain it’s very important to keep the car visible to other drivers. However, some students neglect that and just leave their headlights turned off. This causes a severe danger to the driver and cars around him, and usually leads to a test failure.
Speed is also an issue when driving in the rain. Rain makes the road wet, which causes it to lose traction with the tires. This reduces steering ability and makes braking distance much longer than normal. By going even at the speed limit the driver puts himself in a risk of losing control of the car. This may lead to what the examiners call a “dangerous maneuver”, which is a critical error.
Turning during rain can be very dangerous. Many accidents have happened because of someone losing control during a turn. Some driving students come unprepared to their road test, which causes them to make wrong estimations about the proper turning speed on rain. In the best case, it can be marked as a minor error only. In the worst case, it can be deadly.
Rain driving is a subject of many hours of practice. Every driving student should get some driving practice during rain to understand how rain driving is different from ordinary driving. This can save lives of many people. Driving students who practice during the summer should drive very carefully on their first rain driving after they get their license.
You can find a guide that shows you how to drive during rain and on wet roads on the Pass your Road Test section of Great-Info-Products.com.