The rainy season entails driving through wet, slippery, and risky roads. If you'd like to learn a few tips on driving in the rain safely, keep reading this post by Ken Reaser Enterprises in Apopka.

As a Floridian, you are probably all too familiar with the rainy season's wet and slippery roads; hence, you may prefer to stay indoors rather than hit the road in the rain. However, staying home on rainy days is not always feasible, especially if your job requires you to drive; that said, this post by Ken Reaser Enterprises has gathered some helpful tips on how to boost your safety while driving in the rain. If you are interested in this topic, read on.

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How to Improve Your Safety While Driving in the Rain

Keep Your Car in Good Working Order

Keeping up with your vehicle's maintenance schedule is critical to ensure it will run smoothly throughout the rainy season. Here are the main parts and components you should check so that your car can tackle rain-soaked roads effectively:

• Tires: When it rains, the pavement gets covered by a slippery layer of water mixed with oily remains spilled on the road. This layer can cause your vehicle's tires to lose traction and skid. To avoid such a risk, ensure to stay up to date with tire alignment, rotation, and balancing services. In addition, you must check your tires' tread and air pressure once a month.
• Brakes: Keeping your vehicle's brakes in good condition is vital to staying safe behind the wheel, especially when driving in the rain; after all, the braking system's response is slower on wet surfaces than on dry ones. With that in mind, have the brake fluid, pads, and discs checked according to the manufacturer's intervals and specifications.
• Windshield wipers: Malfunctioning windshield wipers can affect your visibility and safety on the road, so it's essential to inspect your wiper blades regularly and replace them every year.
• Headlights: Your headlights must be in good working order to improve your visibility and let other drivers see you on the road; therefore, check to ensure no headlights are flickering or emitting a weak light. If you notice a malfunction, you may need to have the bulbs and battery inspected.

Improve Your Visibility

Keeping a good view of the road is paramount when driving in the rain; hence, bear the following steps in mind to improve your visibility whenever you are on the wheel during rainy weather:

1. Turn on your windshield wipers.
2. Turn on your headlights.
3. If your windshield fogs up, turn on the defrosters.
4. Turn on the A/C to defrost your car quicker.
5. Roll down one of your windows a little to let the air circulate inside the vehicle; doing so will prevent humidity from condensing and fogging up the windshields.

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Drive at a Slower Pace

Our next suggestion is to reduce your speed whenever you drive in the rain. Being that your tires are the only contact point between your car and the road surface, it should be noted that their grip on the pavement may decrease whenever the surface becomes rain-soaked and slippery. The less traction your vehicle has, the more difficult it is to control it; therefore, it is necessary to compensate for the lack of traction by slowing down. This way, the tread gets more time to achieve a good grip against the surface, thus improving your vehicle's control and safety at the wheel.

Maintain a Safe Following Distance

As you may know, the following distance in optimal road conditions is three seconds; in rainy conditions, you should increase that distance to 8 seconds. Maintaining a safe following distance is critical for two reasons; first, to compensate for the lack of traction (remember that braking takes longer on wet surfaces), and second, to keep you away from the spray coming off the rear of the vehicle in front of you.

Beware of Hydroplaning

One of the most common risks of driving in the rain is hydroplaning; a skid occurs when the tires lose contact with a wet surface. The best way to prevent hydroplaning is to maintain an adequate tread depth in your tires; still, it's also important to be prepared to deal with a skid safely, so here are some tips on what to do if your vehicle hydroplanes:

1. Try to stay calm.
2. Release the accelerator pedal until the tires regain traction.
3. Avoid stepping on the brakes as doing so could make the skid worse.
4. Steer the wheel with both hands in the direction you want the car to go.

Proper vehicle maintenance is essential for safe driving in the rain. Reach out to Ken Reaser Enterprises at (321) 230-6958 and talk to their oil specialists about the benefits of switching to the most effective synthetic oil in Apopka. Don't forget to browse AMSOIL's online store to place an order on top-shelf formulas for your vehicle.