5 Tips for Driving During the Rainy Season in Singapore

Lovely weather with heavy showers and occasional thunders may seem like an amazing day especially so if you are working from home. However, if you are out on the road, traversing through the wet is dangerous. Today, we hope to give you some tips that are essential to allow you to be as safe as you can in wet weather.

Frequent Check on Car Tyres and Windshield Wipers

Ensure that there is sufficient thread depth left often there are indicators along the tyre where you can use as reference. This allows water to be dispersed effectively. Tyres that are worn and have significantly lesser tread depth will not be able to combat the wet roads as effectively. The decrease in thread depth causes a reduce on the tyres’ wet weather performance with increased stopping distance and greatly reduced traction. This puts you at a higher risk of aquaplaning.

Windshield wipers should be checked as well, if it smears your windshield with water instead of pushing the water away, be sure to change it. With wipers that function like they should, they will provide a better visibility, allowing you to react in time during an emergency, especially where braking distance is increased significantly in the wet.

(BONUS: In general, tyres can last 20,000km to 40,000km depending on the make and model. To get the most out of your tyres do go for frequent balancing, rotation and alignment.)

Do Not Exceed the Speed Limit at All Times

You should always adhere to the speed limit and specially so in wet weather conditions. You should consider going slower than what you normally would. Remember that wet roads incredibly dangerous.  With reduced visibility, hindering reaction time as well as the additional braking distance required, it is important to keep a further safety distance with the car ahead of you. In order to give yourself ample and sufficient time to react.  Additionally, your vehicle may not perform like how it would in the dry and an error in your judgement will be less forgiving in the rain.

Avoid Harsh and Sudden Braking

This brings us to the next point which is to avoid harsh and sudden braking. Doing so may cause the car to skid and eventually losing control of your vehicle. In order to avoid doing so, we suggest letting go of the gas pedal earlier than you would. This allows you to brake gradually while keeping a safe distance from the car in-front you.

Additionally, when accelerating, it is the same concept. Giving the gas pedal all your might in the wet and accelerating the fastest you can, will cause your vehicle to skid and possibly go out of control.

Driving through standing water and puddles can cause aquaplaning to occur. Aquaplaning occurs when water builds up, creating a sheet of water between the road and your tyres.  You will lose traction and may even skid across the road. The best way to prevent aquaplaning is avoiding the areas where water has been collected. We suggest driving at a slower speed and in the middle of the lanes which has less water collected up will reduce the chances of aquaplaning happening.

What to do in the Event of Aquaplaning

No matter how safe of a driver you may be, aquaplaning can still occur.

When you aquaplane, you lose control of the car temporarily, with no steering input where the steering wheel feels light, no change in the vehicle behaviour when you brake or accelerate. You might notice the engine’s RPM increasing and getting slightly louder.

Remember that any harsh steering input or braking will cause your vehicle to trigger a slide. Always remain calm at all times and do not slam on the brakes. Ease off the gas pedal immediately. Ensure that your steering wheel is straightened and begin to gently brake continuously when you have regained control.

You can stay safe while driving in the rain with the tips above. It is incredibly simple as long as you put in effort and abide to these safety precautions. Always remember that reducing your speed and having good visibility will come a long way and will significantly reduce your chances of an accident caused by wet weather.