The weather in the UK is notoriously changeable and, in recent years, has become less predictable and more extreme. Recent storms have lashed vast areas of the country, making driving conditions difficult and - at times - dangerous.
But if you do need to head out during these conditions, how can you make sure you’re driving safely? Here at Auto Sportiva, we’ve got a great range of cars that can help to keep you as secure as can be during bad weather, but what kind of measures can you take to adjust your driving? In this article, we’re going to be taking a look at them.
Don’t leave unless you need to
One of the easiest ways to be driving safely is when there are poor driving conditions outside is by staying at home. It might sound silly, but keeping yourself out of harm’s way is one of the simplest ways of avoiding a potential accident.
Of course, this isn’t going to be applicable for all instances, but it’s worth thinking about whether your journey could be classed as ‘essential’.
Pack some emergency supplies
If you are planning on heading out, then a small kit of emergency supplies is great to keep in the boot of the car. We’d suggest a warm jacket, a bottle of water and some sweets. You don’t need to go overboard, but simply pack some items that could help if you had to stop in your vehicle for a longer period than you’d expect.
Plus, a fully-charged battery pack could really help and make sure that you’re always able to top up your mobile wherever you are.
Take your time
When it’s howling with wind and driving with rain outside, you don’t want to be rushing. It’s why we’d advise going a little slower than usual, giving yourself a better chance of responding to an incident or obstacle should it present itself. You may want to leave for your destination a little earlier than you might usually, too, as this will give you extra time to deal with any slowdowns. It’ll make the whole trip a lot less stressful, too.
Stop if you need to
Driving in bad conditions can be stressful at the best of times, but things can become even more fraught if you find yourself behind the wheel in a situation you’re not comfortable in. Stopping, taking a breath and giving yourself a minute to calm down is the best course of action in these instances.
Just make sure that you park in a safe place and, if it’s windy outside, avoid coming to a stop under a tree or low-hanging branches.
Leave extra space
Heavy rain, sleet and snow all have a huge impact on stopping distances. Greasy road conditions can lengthen the time it takes for a car to come to a stop by a big margin and, as a result, driving too close to the car in front could quickly cause an accident should they need the stop suddenly.
Make sure you’re leaving plenty of space between your vehicle and the one ahead. It’s easiest to measure this using a static object; wait for the car ahead to pass by something like a lamppost and then count in seconds. If it’s less than four when driving in the rain, ease off and give yourself a larger gap.
Make sure your lights are on
It might sound silly, but remembering to have your lights on is something that could drastically improve your safety levels when driving in poor conditions. This is particularly relevant for dusky, low-light environments as it’s during these periods that cars with automatic lights can often be tricked into failing to automatically activate both the head- and taillights.
So if you’re in any doubt, make sure to manually activate your car’s headlights using the switch.
There are many unpleasant aspects of driving in poor weather but with the right preparation, there’s no reason why you can’t drive safely. However, if you fancy changing cars as an even more thorough way of getting ready for bad weather then we can help. Here at Auto Sportiva, we’ve got a broad selection of cars for all occasions, so check out our stock today and get in touch to find out more.
