When the skies open up and the rain comes pouring down, roads can become incredibly dangerous for drivers who are careless and don’t change their driving tactics based on the environment around them. For this reason, traffic accidents are considerably more common on days with high precipitation. While not as dangerous as snow, rain still impacts the ability of drivers to react to hazards. Here are some tips on how you can safely drive in rainy weather…

 

Don’t Zone Out

 

First of all, don’t zone out when you are driving in the rain. Ideally, you shouldn’t ever feel like you are on “autopilot” when you are driving, but it is something that naturally happens, since it is something that you do every day. However, even if you are driving a route you’ve literally driven thousands of times before, make sure that you snap out of your head and stay alert when it is raining outside, because you might need to react to unpredictable situations.

 

Use Your Headlights

 

Usually, daylight is considerably dimmer when it is raining, and night time can be even more visually distorted than it already is. For this reason, always make sure that you use your headlights when you are driving in the rain. You should always be using your headlights when there is something that impairs your visibility on the road.

 

Look Out for Puddles of Water

 

One of the most dangerous impacts that rain has on the road is when it creates large puddles in uneven surfaces on the road. While most puddles are probably harmless ones that you can drive right through, deep puddles, or large amounts of standing water, can lead to hydroplaning. Hydroplaning impairs your tires’ ability to get friction on the road, which makes your vehicle slide around without you being able to control it. For this reason, try to avoid any puddles that look like they might put you at risk of hydroplaning. If your vehicle does start to hydroplane, don’t panic, just de-accelerate until you regain control of the vehicle.

 

Limit Your Speed

 

Another thing you should do if there is any sort of weather that impairs your driving is simply slow down. Limiting your speed reduces the risk that anything happens that you can’t react to when driving conditions are less than ideal.