Advice to Help You Navigate the Roads in Adverse Weather

Driving can turn ugly when the weather turns bad - read our guide to driving in adverse weather.

In the UK, rain, sleet, ice, and snow are not uncommon hazards to experience while driving. If you are unfamiliar with driving in adverse weather conditions, you may find yourself feeling quite incapable of navigating the roads without some assistance. These conditions can present a number of dangers for drivers, so it is important to utilise safe driving habits to ensure that you remain secure while driving in extreme weather.

Use Your Headlights at All Times

If the visibility is low, you are required by law to use headlights. This not only allows you to keep the road lit in front of you, but it also alerts oncoming cars to the fact that you are also traveling on the road with them. You should be able to see at least a few metres in front of your vehicle. If you cannot, you must turn on your headlights.

During these times of low visibility, you are also permitted to use your front or rear fog lights to help light the road, but these must be turned off in the event that road conditions improve.

Give Yourself Plenty of Space

You may be used to driving a car length behind the car in front of you, but in adverse weather conditions, you should double or perhaps even triple the amount of space that you leave between you and the car in front of you. It will be much more difficult for you to stop quickly, and braking hard can actually lead to losing control of your vehicle. This is one reason that it is so important to ensure that you are able to accelerate and stop gradually so that you can avoid accidents and running off the road.

Driving in fog is tricky - use foglights to make sure you are visible to other drivers.

If conditions are icy or snowy, make sure to leave enough distance for you to slowly let off the accelerator without braking. Braking on the ice may cause your car to skid, slide, and lose direction quickly, so you should avoid braking when it is reasonable to do so. By leaving yourself enough space, you will be able to better position yourself to prevent accidents that may occur from braking too quickly.

Calmly Assess the Situation

If your steering wheel stops working, your first reaction will probably be to panic. However, to stay safe during adverse weather conditions, you need to prepare for these problems so that you can keep control of your vehicle. If you lose control of your steering wheel, you probably do not have good traction between your tyres and the road. This means that you need to let off of the accelerator (do not use the brake!), and then allow the car to gently come to a stop until you can begin steering again. When you are driving on ice, any jerky or sudden movements could easily cause you to lose control of the vehicle. It is best to keep your movements on the road as smooth as possible to prevent accidents from occurring.

Have the Proper Level of Insurance

Accidents during treacherous weather conditions cannot be wholly avoided, even with good driving habits. You should make sure that you have an insurance policy that will cover you if you are involved in an accident during icy, rainy, or snowy conditions, and you can quickly compare quotes on the homepage of this site to see the different types of policies that are available to you.

Perform regular maintenance on your car to make sure it handles adverse weather okay.

Perform Regular Vehicle Maintenance

Your car’s ability to take on severe weather conditions can be improved by performing routine maintenance on your vehicle as much as required. When you go into the winter season, you may want to take your car to someone that can inspect it just to make sure that all parts are functioning well and that your engine is in good working order. Getting stranded while in adverse weather can be terrifying, so ensuring that your car is up to the challenge is one good way to get prepared for harsh winter weather.

Emergency Kit for Adverse Conditions

In addition to having your car inspected and performing the necessary maintenance procedures, you should also make sure that you carry an emergency kit with you during the winter in case you get trapped somewhere and need to wait for assistance. Your kit should include basic essentials: a warm blanket, a light, water, and you should also preferably take some food with you on long journeys as well. You should keep your mobile fully charged and invest in a car charger if possible so that you can contact someone if you are ever in need of assistance.

References:

For more information on how to drive properly during adverse weather conditions, visit http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/19654.aspx.