How to cope with driving in adverse conditions
How to Cope With Driving In Adverse Conditions
Floods A number of areas in the UK have been in the news in recent years due to flooding, the area most recently affected was Cumbria where roads and even homes were flooded. Driving in the flooded areas is advised against as water can get into your engine and not only stop your car and leave you stranded but it can also cause serious damage that will require costly repairs.
You should avoid relying on your SatNav too much as many people have followed their instructions religiously and been led in to a flooded road or even rivers in some cases!
Snow At the beginning of 2010 the UK had a few weeks where the country nearly ground to a halt as heavy snow fall throughout the country. This led to people being unable to get to work, with public transport means being cancelled and cars buried in snow. Driving in snow is very treacherous and you should be driving at a much slower speed to ensure you are able to stop in time and keep some control of the vehicle. Braking distances increase substantially and you car will probably wheel spin in the snow or slush, it is advise that unless it is absolutely necessary then you should avoid driving on smaller roads which may not have been gritted.
Fog Thick fog can be like driving whilst blindfolded the lights of a car ahead of you may be the only thing that you can see, so driving significantly slower than usual is recommended as you don’t know what will suddenly appear in front of you. If your car has front fog lights this can help illuminate your way but with older cars you may find you only have the rear fog light to make your presence known.
It is also important to bear in mind that the light ahead of you could be a car or a motorcycle so if you are driving on a dual carriageway or motorway then make sure you take care when you overtake anyone.
You may find that adverse weather may be too much to ask for older vehicles, getting a new car using the right car finance plans to spread the cost with car credit UK service can mean you get a modern car with added safety features too.