It’s that time of the year again when it comes down cats and dogs from the heavens and leave our streets flooded and our daily lives severely interrupted. Let’s face it, everything changes during the monsoon, from our attires to our daily routines, and whether you are a pedestrian or a vehicular commuter on the road, life becomes much more dangerous for you when things are all wet and slippery around you or worst, flooded!
And if you find yourself driving during this season, there are a few tips that you should most certainly follow to keep you and the ones around you safe, here are 5 tips for safe driving during monsoon:
(1) Check your Vehicle:
Inspect your windshield wipers and make sure that they are working properly, replace the wiper if it is cracked or fatigued. It would be wise to have your tires treads checked the next time you go to a garage and replace any headlights or tail-lights that are out, rain tends to cut down visibility by a great deal and so you need to have all your lights checked, especially if you are going on a highway trip.
(2) Give yourself some extra time before every journey:
During monsoon, the traffic always tends to get worse because there are less people walking and more people on vehicles. To avoid having to driving fast which is really risky on wet roads, you need to give yourself some extra time before you set out.
(3) Don’t Tailgate
Quite often people seem to tailgate habitually on wet roads and cause accidents, it takes three times longer to stop on a wet road than a dry one. Increase the distance you normally keep from the car in front of you and be alert for brake lights ahead.
(4) Never Drive Within a Flood While It’s Raining:
Most drivers do not realize this, but only a few inches of water may contain the power to sway your car from it’s original direction if the flood has enough power, as it would have during the time of a rain. It’s always recommended for car-owners to not pass through a flood water because of the chance of the water to infiltrate your engine; however, if you must, make sure that the rain is not too powerful because powerful rains create powerful floods which may even carry your car along!
5. Downed Power Lines: Stay within your Car
If a power line comes in contact with your vehicle while you are inside, STAY in your car. Wait for help to arrive and honk the horn to attract attention from nearby people. Under any circumstances, if you are forced to leave the car, make sure that do NOT make the mistake of touching the vehicle and the ground at the same time. You should jump out and land with both feet together and then continue to shuffle or hop with both feet till you are at least 50 feet away from your car.