I just sat through six hours of Defensive Driving for work, and wanted to share some wisdom with y’all! This is verbatim from the presentation, regarding environmental hazards. Except I added cute gifs.
Because of the limited number of vehicular control options you have available (braking, steering, and accelerating), it is important to thoroughly understand how these responses can be affected by issues such as adverse environmental and roadway conditions, as well as what we’ve already discussed concerning uncontrolled or high speeds while traveling.
Always be aware of the driving environment. Roads are built for safety, and speed limits are determined by the conditions of the road on which they are posted. Speed limits on roads are set based on factors such as surfacing materials, banking of turns, width, distance between intersections, traffic density, and the surrounding community.
As you move through the driving environment, you must also be aware of the hazards that Mother Nature places in the roadway. Knowing how to drive and handle environmental hazards such as rain, slick roads, standing water, fog, and wind is vital to your safety and that of the drivers sharing the roadway.
How Should I Handle a Skid?
If your vehicle becomes involved in a skid, you should attempt to regain control without resorting to drastic control inputs. Letting off the accelerator and keeping a firm grasp on the steering wheel is essential ─ as is remaining calm and levelheaded.
Attempt to steer the vehicle in the direction of the skid or turn the wheel toward the direction the back end of the car is going. Braking hard will not help and will often increase the skid.
How Do the Elements Affect the Driving Environment?
As the sun goes down, dusk approaches and nighttime driving conditions come into play. Since nearly 90% of driving decisions are based on what you see, you must adjust your driving actions when conditions change and your visibility is affected. In darkened conditions, you will no longer have multiple-mile visibility, and certain actions should be adjusted as a result.
Visibility during the night is limited to an area immediately in front of the motor vehicle. This factor severely limits your peripheral vision and depth perception compared to daylight driving hours. Even the glare from other drivers’ headlights causes a strain on visual capabilities.
Visual acuity in darker hours diminishes as well as we age. Also, take into consideration that as the evening progresses, so does the likelihood of running up against a driver who is impaired by alcohol use, drug use, or even fatigue.
Just as you do when driving in rainy or foggy conditions, you should analyze daytime versus nighttime driving conditions and take appropriate action by turning on your headlights, slowing down, and increasing following distance. Typically, during daytime driving, it’s easy to see traffic signals and control devices. Nighttime driving not only reduces visibility of traffic control devices, but also affects your visual scanning. Visibility is the dominant element necessary for safe driving, and all drivers should be aware of sight limitations.
Proper planning is imperative when it comes to nighttime driving, especially when traveling in unfamiliar areas. Turning on your vehicle’s inside overhead lighting (for instance, to check maps) can severely restrict outside vision. Plus, your interior lights could distract other drivers. It is best to familiarize yourself with maps and directions before starting out on the road. If it is necessary to refresh your memory or take a closer look at a map or directions, it is best to do so when the vehicle is stopped.
How Should I Adjust My Driving for Rainy Weather?
The most dangerous time to drive on roads is immediately after it has started to rain. Dust particles and oil residue float on the water and drastically reduce traction of the tires. Braking distance is dramatically affected and increased as a vehicle is more likely to skid in wet conditions.
Braking hard is neither advisable nor feasible because of the potential for a skid. Consequently, braking distance is increased substantially. Often, braking distance is increased two or three times as the inability to brake hard leaves your vehicle traveling beyond your intended stopping point.
Drivers whose vehicles are equipped with manual transmissions should not use downshifting as a technique for slowing down the vehicle, especially under slippery surface conditions. Doing so may cause the vehicle to lose traction and consequently go into an uncontrollable skid. (Downshifting means shifting from a higher to a lower gear to slow the vehicle and is not recommended for front-drive standard shift vehicles due to damaging the constant velocity joints connected to the transaxle.)
It is recommended that drivers reduce their driving speed anywhere from 5 to 50 miles per hour depending upon the harshness of conditions on wet road surfaces.
Additionally, you should slow down dramatically in rainy weather or on wet roads as decreased speeds give you better control of the vehicle and make it less likely you will skid or slide. Decrease speed as necessary to respond to the conditions of the road. A car under controlled speed is more likely to maneuver, handle turns, and remain in your control under emergency situations. Also, in slippery conditions, drive with extreme caution and avoid any sudden maneuvers in braking, accelerating, or steering.
A vehicle traveling at excessive speed on wet or slick roads can begin to hydroplane as water forms a barrier between the road and the tires and traction is lost as the wheels start to ride on top of the water and not on the road surface. Hydroplaning is the complete loss of tire traction. During hydroplaning, the tread of the tires is unable to expel water efficiently enough to maintain tire contact on the roadway surface. The result is that the tires essentially “ride” on top of a sheet of water.
Your best defense against hydroplaning is to slow down in periods of heavy rain and react with gentle control inputs. If hydroplaning begins, let off of the accelerator, grip the wheel firmly, and brake gradually, increasing pressure as the vehicle slows down.
After a heavy rain, standing water becomes a problem you should avoid where possible. You do not know what is at the bottom of that standing water or how deep the standing water could be. The hole being covered by the water does not necessarily have to be deep. You can lose control of your car in just six inches of water.
If you do pass through a body of standing water and are able to get out of the standing water, gently pump your brakes to dry them off.
In a heavy rain, as with any situation where your visibility is reduced, you should turn on your headlights. This makes it easier for you to see and to be seen in a reduced visibility situation.
Driving by following in the tire tracks of the vehicle in front of you will typically be less slippery and provide greater traction since the vehicle’s tire tread in front has already dispelled the water for a few moments (before it floods back). However, do not confuse tire tracks with the build-up of oils that is typically found in the center of all traffic lanes. The most dangerous part of driving in a rainfall is at the onset of the rainfall, because these oils lift to the surface of the roadway and may result in very slippery surfaces that must be avoided. Keep in mind that motorcycles are especially susceptible to sliding on these grease strips. Be prepared to give them extra space.
How Should I Adjust My Driving for Foggy Weather?
Never overdrive your headlights, and slow down dramatically when driving through fog. Overdriving your headlights can significantly affect your reaction time, especially when dealing with emergency situations. Remember that reaction distance is the distance your vehicle will travel from the moment you encounter and identify a problem to the moment in which you begin to implement a maneuver to counteract the situation.
As speed increases, so does reaction time. Since visibility is already limited under foggy conditions, you do not have as much time to manage corrective action as you normally would under clear visibility conditions.
Windshield wipers increase visibility by removing from the windshield condensation caused by fog, rain, and snow. Make sure that your wipers are maintained in good condition and are of the appropriate size and type for your vehicle. Also, maintain clean headlights and taillights to ensure maximum light transmission and visibility to other drivers.
Slow down and be ready for a fast stop. Allow for increased braking distance, as the your ability to see and prepare for traffic (opposing and same direction) and upcoming road conditions will be greatly reduced. Give yourself and the vehicles around you a clear path to follow. If the fog is so thick you cannot see ahead, pull off the road and wait for the fog to lift. If visibility is so poor that you must leave the roadway, pull completely off the road and use your vehicle emergency or hazard flashers. In cases such as zero visibility, it is always best to leave the roadway, proceed to a safe place, and stop driving until conditions improve.
As with rain, when fog increases, your vehicle speed should decrease. In any situation in which your visibility is reduced, you should turn on your low beam headlights, making it easier for you to see and to be seen in reduced visibility situations.
Increased scanning of the rearview mirror for closing vehicles is essential in fog. Be prepared to use your emergency flashers or an audible signal to warn other drivers of your presence. Also, be prepared to change lanes or leave the roadway, if necessary, in order to avoid a crash.
Under foggy conditions, turn on your low beam headlights to improve visibility.
How Should I Adjust My Driving for Windy Weather?
Normally, windy weather will speed you up or slow you down only marginally. However, you want to avoid driving in a crosswind situation. A strong crosswind could blow you into the path of oncoming traffic or into some other roadside hazard.
If you must drive in a crosswind situation, drive to the right side of your lane. For example, if the crosswind is coming from the left side of the road, the biggest danger to you is having oncoming traffic blown into your lane. Being on the right side of your lane will give you a few extra feet to avoid oncoming traffic.
If the crosswind is coming from the right side of the road, driving on the right side of your lane will give you a few extra feet to prevent or reduce your chance of being blown into the path of oncoming traffic.
Flash floods are caused by intense rain that falls in a short amount of time. Flash floods generally occur during or right after a severe thunderstorm. In some cases, small streams just a few feet wide by a few inches deep can swell to over 12 feet deep and 80 feet wide in less than five minutes.
Remember that water is one of the most powerful forces of nature. As little as six inches of fast-moving water can knock you off your feet. Fast moving water only two feet deep can wash away a vehicle.
If the National Weather Service issues a Flash Flood Warning, or you observe water rising quickly, take action immediately.
Get far away from areas subject to flooding (dips, low spots, canyons, dry creek beds, or along a stream). Seek higher, safer ground.
Avoid areas near rivers or streams and areas that are already flooded. Roads that are underwater may no longer be intact. NEVER drive through flooded roadways.
If your vehicle stalls, leave it immediately and seek higher ground. Rapidly rising water may engulf the vehicle and sweep it away.
Be very careful at night when it is harder to see flood dangers.
Do not park your vehicle or camp along streams or dry streambeds during threatening conditions.
How Should I Adjust My Driving for Winter Weather?
Winter driving requires patience and preparation for the unexpected. Becoming stranded in a winter storm could be a life or death proposition. Planning ahead, driving at speeds appropriate for conditions, and remaining alert will assist you in safely making it to your destination.
The three key elements to safe winter driving are:
It is best to winterize your vehicle before winter strikes. Schedule a maintenance check-up for the vehicle’s tires and tire pressure, battery, belts and hoses, radiator, oil, lights, brakes, exhaust system, heater/defroster, wipers, and ignition system. Keep your gas tank sufficiently full – at least half a tank is recommended. Depending upon where you drive, you may consider using winter tires or tire chains.
Winter driving conditions such as rain, snow, and ice dramatically affect the braking distance of your vehicle. Your ability to stop smoothly and safely is severely limited by reduced tire traction. In order to stop safely, the vehicle’s wheels must maintain traction by remaining in contact with the road surface while rolling, referred to as “rolling traction.” When you are handling slippery winter roads, the keys to safety are slower speeds, gentler stops and turns, and increased following distances. It is recommended that you reduce your speed to half the posted speed limit or less under snowy road conditions. Of course, travel on ice is extremely dangerous and should not be undertaken unless an emergency situation requires it. In such events, you should slow the vehicle to a crawl.
Don’t try to stretch more miles from your tires during the winter months. Low tread depth can have serious effects on dry pavement, but those effects are multiplied in wet and snowy conditions. When in doubt, get new tires. Tire pressure usually lowers itself in winter and raises itself in summer. Under-inflated tires can cause a car to react more slowly to steering. Every time the outside temperature drops 10 degrees, the air pressure inside your tires goes down about one or two PSI. Tires lose air normally through the process of permeation (passing through the minute openings in porous material).
Sand and salt play a big role in keeping roads safe. Spreading salt on the road prevents snow and ice from bonding to the road surface, which is why salt is usually spread early in a storm to prevent snow build-up and to aid in snow removal operations. Unlike salt, sand does not melt and therefore helps by providing traction on slippery surfaces. Sand is often used when temperatures are too low for salt to be effective or at higher temperatures for immediate traction, particularly on hills, curves, bridges, intersections, and snow-packed roads.
Use caution when snowplows are on the roadways, as snowplows and salt and sand trucks travel much more slowly than regular traffic. Passing a snowplow can be extremely dangerous as sight lines and visibility near a working snowplow are severely restricted by blowing snow.
Roads are typically cooler in shady areas, and that is where you may encounter another extremely dangerous element known as “black ice.” Always slow down your vehicle when you see shady areas.
Clear snow and ice from all windows and lights (even the hood and roof) before driving.
Remember that posted speed limits are for dry pavement, and slow down in wet or slippery conditions.
Leave plenty of room for stopping.
Leave room for maintenance vehicles and plows.
Know the current road and weather conditions.
Use brakes carefully by braking early and gradually applying pressure to the brakes.
Watch for ice on bridges, even when the adjacent roadway is in good condition.
Don’t use your cruise control in wintry conditions. Even roads that appear clear can have sudden slippery spots.
Don’t become overconfident in all-wheel drive vehicles. (All-wheel drive may help you get going more quickly than other vehicles, but it won’t help you stop any faster or maintain traction on ice.)
Increase your scanning distance (look farther ahead) to provide yourself with extra time to react.
Always fill the gasoline tank before entering rural areas. Keeping your tank as full as possible will minimize condensation, providing maximum advantage in case of trouble.
Drive with your headlights on.
Stock your car with basic winter driving equipment: a scraper and brush, small shovel, jumper cables, tow chain, and a bag of sand or cat litter for tire traction.
Include road flares, a blanket, heavy boots, warm clothing, and a flashlight with batteries.
Correctly operating windshield wipers and defrosters are essential to safety while driving under snow and ice conditions. Properly maintained windshield wipers are a must; there are also special blades available that are better equipped to assist in the removal of snow from the windshield.
Defroster effectiveness is essential in the initial clearing of snow and ice from the windshield. In some vehicles, the rear window is also equipped with a defroster. Both should be checked well in advance of need.
In certain cases, changing the vehicle thermostat will restore appropriate heat to the defroster system.
What Caution Should I Use While Driving in the Mountains?
Because of limited escape routes in mountainous terrain, maintain a position in the center of the lane in which you are traveling or drive as close to the right-hand edge of the roadway as is reasonably possible. On a curve, if road conditions prevail that prohibit driving to the right of the center line, you are required to give an audible warning such as using the vehicle’s horn within 200 feet of the curve.
Winters can be severe, particularly in the mountains. When traveling in winter months, be prepared in case your vehicle breaks down or you become involved in a traffic crash. Always carry warm clothing and blankets or a sleeping bag, in addition to following the tips for winter driving given below. You may need these items if you have to wait for help. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle if heavy snow is falling. Most deaths occur when people leave their cars, get lost, and freeze.
When driving in the mountains, you should:
Pay special attention to speed limit signs and signs warning of curves, steep hills, or other hazards.
Stay close to the right edge of the road to be away from oncoming traffic.
Use a lower gear to control speeds while going down long hills.
Never coast downhill by shifting into neutral or disengaging the clutch.
Watch for a solid yellow line in your lane marking a no-passing zone. Sound the horn when approaching any curve on a narrow road where the view is obstructed.
Remember that traction is reduced on curves. To negate the effects of centrifugal force and reduced vehicle traction when entering a curve, reduce speed. Slowly resume speed when coming out of the turn.
Vehicles can overheat in the winter as well as in warmer weather, mainly because the engine is working harder. Make sure your coolant system is working efficiently. Check the level, pH, and concentration of radiator fluids. When driving, be sure to regularly check the vehicle’s temperature gauge. If you notice any signs of overheating, do not continue to drive. Find a safe place to pull over and let the engine cool down. If this is not possible, turn the vehicle’s heater on high. Sometimes this will cool down the engine temporarily.
What If I Encounter Wildlife Areas?
Small animals in the road are dangerous because motorists sometimes lose control while trying to avoid the animals. When you see a small animal in the road, think of your own safety. Don’t try to dodge it unless you’re sure it is safe to do so.
Big game animals such as moose, elk, and deer can cause severe damage to a vehicle. Road conditions can play an important role in the severity of these types of crashes. For instance, most deer collisions occur when the roadways were wet. When you see a large animal on or near the road, whether the roadway is wet or dry, slow down and proceed with extreme caution. Remember that these animals are herd animals, and others are usually nearby. You may narrowly escape hitting one just to hit another that is following behind the first.
Large animals can move into the path of a vehicle so quickly that it’s impossible to slow down enough to safely avoid hitting the animal. If you find yourself in this situation, you must consider a collision with the animal as the safest alternative, even though the crash may damage your vehicle and will likely kill the animal. Concentrate on keeping control of the vehicle before, during, and after the crash.
