When the roads become wet or icy and visibility reduces, it’s important for all drivers to make small changes to their behavior to improve their safety on the road.

When the sun is out and the roads have never been drier, maintaining control of your vehicle is a relatively easy task. After all, without any weather hazards, it’s easy for your tires to grip the road and build traction. However, as soon as the weather takes a turn and the roads become a little wet or icy, keeping control of your vehicle requires much more attention.

Staying Safer on the Roads

tayiJeff Sheriff ;knows how important it is for drivers to stay safe on the road in all weather conditions, and has prepared the following post to help you be a safe driver during bad weather and poor visibility.

Watch Your Take Off

When the weather is good and you start to put pressure on your gas pedal, your tires can easily grip to the road underneath them and begin to move you forward. When the road is wet or icy, however, things happen a little differently. When the conditions are not ideal, your tires aren’t able to easily grip onto the road, including your driveway or even in your garage. This is the reason why your wheels may spin when trying to accelerate too quickly in wet weather. This doesn’t necessarily cause problems when you are in your driveway, however, when you are leaving a red light or a stop sign, it has the potential to cause you to lose control of your vehicle and result in a collision. The easiest way to prevent this comes in a very easy tip - apply less pressure to your gas pedal when moving from a full-stop.

Brake Earlier

Despite what you may think, your car’s ABS (anti-lock braking system) isn’t the be-all and end-all of braking fail-safes. Even vehicles which include this feature can be involved in an accident. While this feature will do its best to prevent your wheels from locking up, it still works on the basis of friction. Which means that the less friction your tires can generate, the less able this features is to bring your vehicle to a controlled stop.

1. If you can see a red light coming up, instead of waiting until the last minute to apply your brakes hoping that it will change to green by the time you reach it, start to brake expecting that you will need to bring your car to a full stop.
2. While you will usually use the vehicle in front of you as a gauge for applying the pressure to your brakes, there is a chance that the driver of this vehicle isn’t paying enough attention. In addition to watching this vehicle, look at the driving behavior of the vehicle in front of the one you are trailing, along with the vehicles around you. If you can see any of these vehicles slowing down, consider it your cue to do the same.

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On the Subject of Early Action

In addition to keeping your eye on other vehicles, it’s important that you drive with the thought that other drivers are doing the same with your vehicle. With this in mind, be sure that you indicate your intentions early. As an example, each time that you intend to change lanes, start indicating your intention a few seconds earlier than you would. These additional flashes of your indicator light can be a great help to fellow drivers and allow them more time to adjust their cruising speed and accommodate your maneuver. Similarly, if you know that you will be turning a corner in the distance or taking an exit on the freeway, indicating early lets other motorists know that you will soon be applying the brakes and can, again, adjust their driving behavior to maintain a safe driving distance.

Don’t Let a Computer Drive Your Car

There is no denying that cruise-control is a great feature during long drives, allowing you to take your foot off the pedals while your vehicle maintains a constant speed. However, it is this behavior which can cause serious problems during wet weather. When motorists ;remove their feed from the pedals, they often rest them to the side and then change into a more comfortable position. If danger ;occurs on the road and a driver needs to either brake suddenly or accelerate out of a tricky spot, it takes an extra second or two to return their feet to the pedals and get into an attentive position. When the roads are wet or visibility is low and problems in front of you can almost appear out of nowhere, these extra seconds can often be the difference between exchanging insurance information and a near miss.

Boost Your Car’s Performance with a Synthetic Oil Change in Key Largo

If your car feels sluggish or you can’t remember the last time that you changed the fluids, now is the perfect time to perform a quick and easy synthetic oil change. To find out more about the benefits, speak with an expert on the subject at Jeff Sheriff ;by calling (305) 451-2147.