Driving in Rainy Michigan Weather Can Be a More Confident Experience
When it comes to handling rainy weather conditions in mid-Michigan, there will be days where the rain is coming down all day long. If you have to drive in these situations, there are useful tips that you can implement to make your experience safer and more confident. Even experienced rainy weather drivers can continue to learn how to improve their driving practices to make these situations even easier to undertake. The Thelen Auto Group in Bay City, MI, wants to provide you with our favorite suggestions that help make our rainy-day travels a safer experience in mid-Michigan.
How Can You Make Rainy Weather Driving Safer?
Slow Down & Avoid Sudden Movements – Slowing down may seem like an obvious answer to improving rainy weather driving, but it is still an integral part of a successful trip. Even a couple mile per hour reduction allows you to have more reaction time and reduce the chance of hydroplaning on water-covered roads. When you hydroplane, you lose contact with the roadway, and your chances of skidding increases. Therefore, slowing down serves multiple purposes. Additionally, try and avoid any sudden steering or braking. By anticipating your movements, you can further reduce the chances of a skid caused by a sudden movement or braking. This can be made even easier by allowing a larger gap between you and the car in front of you.
No Cruise Control – While it might be tempting to have cruise control engaged on the highway to maintain a certain speed, there might be moments when you need to slow down without hitting the brakes. With cruise control engaged, this is harder because you can’t just simply lift your foot off the gas pedal. Therefore, avoid engaging cruise control if you’re driving in the rain for better control over the speed you are driving at.
What to Do If You Do Skid – If you find yourself skidding on a rain-covered surface, don’t panic. If you feel a skid coming on, make sure you are looking in the direction that you want your vehicle to continue heading towards and carefully turn the steering wheel in that direction. Additionally, do not press down on the brakes hard. This can cause more problems than a solution. Gently press the brake and continue to have your vehicle’s steering wheel turned in the direction you eventually want to go. As long as you don’t panic, you’ll eventually get yourself back under control.
(Photo Credit: Pexels)
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