Summer vehicle maintenance | Driving on wet roads | Driving on icy or snowy roads | Winterizing your vehicle
Dial-A-Claim queues tell a lot. When a heavy rain hits roads after a dry period, crash reports begin pouring in. At ICBC claim centres the damaged cars and bodies from a rainy day can break records as well as hearts.
In one recent year, police in B.C. reported over 5,500 injury collisions on wet roads, and these crashes killed 72 people.
Why is rainy-day driving so risky? Traction is the simple answer. During dry weather, oily substances from car exhaust settle into the pavement below the level of contact with your tires. The first hour of a steady rain brings the oil to the surface.
Greasy roads and heavy traffic are a bad combination. Hurried drivers need to increase their following distance, but often don't. They learn with a crash that their braking power is a fraction of what they expect.
As rainfall increases, tires must cut through the water to maintain contact with the road. If there's too much water on the road and you are traveling too fast, your vehicle may start to ride on top of the water a condition called hydroplaning or aquaplaning.
When the road is slippery, turn off your cruise control system. Snow, ice, slush or even rain can cause wheel-spin and loss of control.
The only way to stop this wheel-spin and maintain control is to immediately reduce power. However, an activated cruise control system will continue to apply power, keeping the wheels spinning. By the time you disengage the cruise control, you may have lost control.
Try to avoid driving, even at low speed, through a flooded area. Deep water can stall your vehicle's engine and reduce the vehicle's braking ability.
Sometimes a puddle is deeper than it looks. If you have driven through water up to the wheel rims or higher, test your brakes on a clear patch of road at low speed. If they are wet and not stopping the vehicle as they should, dry them by pressing gently on the brake pedal with your left foot while maintaining speed with your right foot.
