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Each year, towns and cities across the UK suffer from significant, and often devastating, flooding.
Homes, businesses and public spaces can experience severe damage due to flooding, with rural areas often the hardest hit.
Roads are also affected, and driving during heavy rain and through floodwater can be perilous, causing all kinds of problems to those behind the wheel. This is particularly the case for new drivers who may not be used to taking to the roads in these adverse conditions.
In this article, we’ll take a look at how you can cope when driving during heavy rain and floods, providing you with some handy tips to do so safely.
Our top tips for driving through floodwater and heavy rain include:
The first bit of advice to consider when driving during these kinds of conditions is to assess whether the journey is necessary at all.
The risk of an accident or collision increases during heavy rain and if your journey can be avoided or be done on another day, then this is often the best course of action. If you have no choice but to drive, try and stick to roads that have not been seriously affected, avoiding routes that you know are prone to flooding. Keep an eye on local news reports for information on the roads and traffic conditions.
You should also let friends and family know that you’re heading out and, if possible, avoid driving alone.
If your journey is unavoidable, you should prepare your vehicle before getting behind the wheel.
First and foremost, you’re going to need your windscreen wipers to work hard when the rain is coming down fast. With this in mind, inspect the wipers, both front and back, to make sure they’re working properly and effectively. If there are any problems with them, you should avoid driving at all costs as your vision will be seriously impaired.
The grip on your tyres is also an important factor to consider, as wet roads can be extra slippery. To make sure your tyres have suitable grip, you can check the tread depth. The legal minimum tread depth of a tyre is 1.6mm and anything lower than this is considered illegal and not roadworthy. The lower the tread depth, the less grip your vehicle will have, so it’s vital that you do not drive in wet weather if your grip is below the legal requirement.
You can check tread depth by doing the 20p test. Simply grab a 20p coin and place it in the tread at various points across the tyre. If you’re able to see any part of the coin’s outer band, it suggests your tread depth is too shallow and therefore not road-worthy.
You should also make sure you have enough fuel before setting off, and that your mobile phone is fully charged in case you need it in emergencies.
When driving in the rain or on wet roads, you should always drive slower than usual. This is because an accident is more likely at a higher speed, especially when the roads are slippier than usual.
You should also leave a greater distance between you and the car in front.
In wet conditions, where your vision is likely to be reduced, it’s important to utilise your headlights correctly. It’s recommended that you use dipped headlights to help other road users see you more easily.
You should also avoid using your rear fog lights as they could dazzle other drivers.
You should exercise extreme caution when driving through standing floodwater and puddles.
While some puddles may be easy to navigate, others can be sizable and it’s not uncommon for vehicles to break down and become trapped in the water. If this is the case, the repairs are likely to be costly and may even result in your vehicle being written off.
As you approach the puddle, you should carefully assess its depth. If necessary, you can even get out of the car to gauge how deep it is. If you’re unsure of its depth or it seems too deep, you shouldn’t risk it and you should look for an alternative route.
When you’ve decided that the puddle is safe to drive through, always do so at a low speed and at a low gear (no higher than second). Keep your revs up as this will help you to maintain the needed momentum which will power you through.
As mentioned earlier, stopping distances increase significantly during heavy rain.
In fact, according to the Highway Code, these stopping distances more than double in some cases. This means that it can take twice as long for your car to come to a complete stop when you hit the brakes, so reducing your speed and leaving extra room between you and the car in front are recommended to minimise the risk of a collision.
At The Windscreen Company, we offer leading windscreen repairs and windscreen replacements to customers across the West Midlands and the South East. In addition to ensuring your windscreens are in the best possible condition to cope with wet weather, we also provide windscreen recalibration that ensures all of your ADAS programs are in good working order. And, if the adverse weather has caused windscreen damage, our emergency windscreen replacement service can be by your side as soon as possible. For more information about what we do, contact our expert team today.
The Windscreen Company, has over 20 years of experience in windscreen repair and replacement. Since 1998, they have been at the forefront of industry innovation, leveraging the latest technology to ensure customer safety and satisfaction.
The Windscreen Company's, help-and-advice pages offer valuable tips and guidance on maintaining vehicle safety through quality windscreen care, while also featuring updated industry realted content.
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