Be prepared for 4 Seasons in 1 Day
The weather this week is crazy. Between snow storms, random heavy hailstone, showers and glaring sunshine it can be difficult to be prepared for a day on the road in your car or van. You really need to be prepared for everything on the roads at the moment. A few of the key things I’ve come across with the changes in the weather are:
Braking Distance
Your braking distance should change based on the condition of the road you are travelling on. In normal dry conditions you should be at least 2 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you. For wet roads this should increase to 4 seconds and on an icy or snow covered road this needs to be significantly more.
Sunglasses
Always have a pair of sunglasses in your car or van for days where the sun is in your eyes or when the sun beams down on a saturated road causing a glare. It is really important to be able to see properly on the road so even buy a cheap pair the next time you are in Penney’s to leave in the glovebox.
Heavy Rain / Hailstone
It can be treacherous driving in heavy rain and hailstone. The best advise I can give is if you can’t see enough and you are finding it too difficult to drive then try to safely pull over to the side of the road and wait for the shower to pass. If you do continue to drive please reduce your speed and increase your stopping distance.
Overtaking
Whether you are running late or have time to spare, don’t take unnecessary risks when overtaking. There are always lorries, tractors, buses, cars and vans on the road but you also need to watch out for cyclists and pedestrians. Please do not over take on a continuous white line or on approach to a junction or bend, it just isn’t worth the risk. It is so easy for another vehicle to try pull out at a junction ahead of something they think will be slow or for a pedestrian to seemingly appear from nowhere – for the sake of an extra few metres, wait and overtake where it is safe to do so.