Bad weather driving tips can save a lot of time and hardship

POLOKWANE – When visiting an area for the first time it is important to check what the weather is like in the specific area during the time of the year you are travelling as even the best made plans can go wrong and leave you stranded in bad weather.

When this happens it is important to know what to do and how to adjust your driving in bad weather.

“Because we do not experience bad weather all the time in sunny South Africa, many drivers may not be experienced in what to do when really bad weather hits our roads. What’s more, we can’t just shrug this off as we are responsible for our driving during bad weather,” advanced driving trainer, Bossie Bosman, told Review.

Bad weather includes:

• Driving into the sun.
• Very cold or hot weather.
• Strong winds.
• Smoke blowing across the road from a veld or forest fire for example.
• Rain or hail pelting down.
• Snow and ice-covered roads.
• Fog and mist.

Weather can affect vehicles and their handling in various ways such as reduced visibility, hydroplaning and slipping and sliding across the road surface.

Pay attention to the following when driving in bad weather:

• Be careful when the road surface is wet as the vehicle can start sliding across the road surface, also known as hydroplaning.
• Gusty winds tug and pull at the vehicle and this affects the steering. This applies particularly to those vehicles that offer a large surface area to the wind, such as large panel vans and caravans being towed.
• Cross-winds can suddenly jerk your vehicle, especially when exiting an area with buildings or an area protected by high-lying land. Such sudden bursts of wind can be particularly dangerous when crossing a bridge or a narrow mountain pass.

What drivers can look out for in bad weather:

• In wet weather be careful when driving behind cars, especially large trucks, as the spray thrown onto the windscreen from the tyres of the vehicle in front of you can reduce visibility. It’s best to pull back to a safe following distance.
• When the first rains have arrived, be careful of rain water creating any slippery patches on the road due to oil and grease deposited there some time ago.
• When strong winds prevail, broken branches and other debris can be blown onto the road.
• After some heavy rain, potholes are likely to be filled with water which means they won’t be seen as easily.
• Be aware of pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists and be prepared to give them extra space.
• Animals may stray onto the road if any fences have been destroyed.
• Smoke from fires and dust storms can suddenly reduce visibility.
• Driving in fog is probably one of the most dangerous things you can do – many vehicles in South Africa are not roadworthy, for example, the head- or tail lights might not be working. When visibility is poor, it would be safer to avoid overtaking rather than possibly being faced with a car that has no headlights in the oncoming traffic lane that you didn’t expect or see due to the poor visibility.

riana@nmgroup.co.za