Bad weather during the winter months can cause problems for motorists, and during periods of bad weather it is particularly important to be aware of road safety in the weather conditions that can often be changeable.
Over the winter months we tend to have lots of storms bringing wet and windy weather to the UK and this can make for some much more dangerous conditions to be driving in, with many accidents happening during spells of bad weather like this.
There has been a lot of heavy rain and of course flooding in the headlines over the past few months brought on by this stormy weather, and if you are planning to drive during a time like this, you must be aware of how to do this as safely as possible.
Being familiar with the Highway Code is essential – from knowing what the various signs mean as well as markings like these chapter 8 chevrons www.vehiclechevrons.com to ensuring that your car is safe to travel and that you have checked that your brakes are working as they should be and that your tyres in suitable condition for driving.
You also need to be aware of the fact that your visibility is likely to be very poor, especially if you are going to be driving during times of very heavy rain, so reducing your speed when conditions are like this reduces the risk of an accident.
As well as reducing your speed, you also want to make sure that other drivers can see you, so you might want to have your lights on to make you more visible to other road users, as well as pedestrians.
When there is a lot of floodwater around, you may well encounter it on the roads, and flash flooding is something that can occur quickly, so don’t ever assume that a route is not going to be flooded. When there has been a prolonged period of heavy rain, many roads that don’t usually flood can become flooded.
Driving through flood water can be very dangerous and it is easy to be washed away in relatively shallow water, so it is important that you are aware of the depth before you go in. If you are driving through a ford, you will be able to see the depth on the ford marker, but if it is an area of flooded road and you are unsure, it is always better to either find another route or check the depth on foot before driving in.