7 Tips driving in rain - Sharhols Garage, Kharghar

 7 Tips driving in rain - Sharhols Garage

Whether it’s during a drizzle or a downpour, driving in the rain can be challenging and hazardous. Wet roads and moving vehicles DO NOT play well together and should be avoided if possible. Unfortunately, not everyone is working from home during this pandemic and is forced to leave the safety of their homes. If you have to drive during the monsoons, you should be aware of some important tips that would most definitely help you drive better and safer.

1. Make It Easier To See

One of the things we don’t realise is how quickly our vision of the road can be hampered when driving in the rain. This is why we always need to keep the front and rear windshield clean at all times. Wipers help in a big way to keep things clear and safe while the AC helps in circulating fresh air and stops the windows from fogging up. The better your vision, the better you will be able to drive.

2. Keep Your Shoes Dry

We have all experienced wet shoes on a metal surface (manhole cover) and how friction becomes a distant dream. In the same way, you are probably going to enter your car with wet shoes during the monsoons, and using those shoes to control the accelerator, brake, and clutch could be a daunting task. This is where a good-quality rubber mat comes in and can help you quickly dry off your shoes so you can drive safely. If you are more concerned about the aesthetics of your shoes, you can pull a shower cap over your shoes to keep them from getting wet and dirty.

3. Always Drive Slowly – Slow Down

Speeding is one of the biggest reasons behind automobile accidents in India and in the rain that danger only intensifies. When driving in the rain, the best thing you can do is take it slow. Hydroplaning is the phenomenon wherein a thin film of water forms between the car tyres and the road. This causes the vehicle to skid and ultimately causes the driver to lose control. Hydroplaning occurs when the vehicle is moving too fast and the tyres do not have enough time to get a proper grip on the road. When you drive slowly, the risk of hydroplaning is significantly reduced, and even if the car skids, it is easier to control when travelling at lower speeds.

4. Try And Stay In The Middle

Roads are designed with drains on the sides so that excess build-up of rain or water can be quickly removed. On Indian roads however, those drains are usually clogged and not functioning in the way they were planned. This means that large amounts of water usually collect on the sides of the roads rather than the middle. So, if you want to drive safer during the monsoon, you should choose to drive somewhere near the center of the road. When you drive on the sides, you not only take the risk of driving into large potholes and flooding the engine, but other cars could quite easily splash water onto your car and windshield making it very difficult to see what’s ahead of you.

5. Going Through A Puddle

Indian roads and heavy rain are probably the worst enemies on the planet and when these two rivals meet, the conclusion is puddles. Deceiving, often dirty, unavoidable holes filled with water, dirt, and whatever garbage decides to flow into it. Puddles are extremely dangerous if not taken seriously by drivers. It is best to avoid roads with puddles completely but it is quite a daunting task, in and of itself, to find a road without at least one pothole in it. If you have to drive into one, you should try to guesstimate the depth of the puddle by watching the water surrounding it. If there are other vehicles driving through the puddle, watch how they do it and follow along. If you are familiar with the pothole and know that the puddle is deeper than you would like to drive into, it is best to avoid it completely. The best way to judge is to see if the water in the puddle is above the level of the door sills. If it isn’t, and you decide to go through it, always keep your foot on the accelerator gently so that water does not enter through the car’s exhaust pipe.

6. Keep Your Distance

 If you take a glass and place it on a wet surface, you will see that it moves on its own. Give the glass a slight push and it will easily slide across the surface. Do the same experiment on a dry surface and the results will be completely different. In the same way, when driving on a dry road, the ideal distance that should be kept between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of yours is called the “5-second gap”. It basically means that it should take you 5 seconds to reach the same place where the car in front of you was driving. By following the wet surface theory, that time has to be increased, and with it, the distance between the two vehicles as well. The added distance will help you brake and come to a stop safely.

7. Make Yourself Visible

Visibility, or the lack of it, is one of the main causes of accidents when driving in the rain. The drivers of large vehicles such as trucks find it very hard to see smaller vehicles, even if they are just a few meters away. Heavy rains turn everything into a gray-coloured mass and if a vehicle is coloured similarly, they become invisible until it’s too late. This is why it is extremely important to have all your lights on while driving – headlights, front fog lights, rear fog lights (if you have them), DRLs, and even taillights. You should make yourself visible to other vehicles around you so that they can see when you’re about to change lanes or make a turn or stop. However, you should avoid using the high-beam as it blinds drivers in front of you and puts them in danger.

Sharhols Garage, Kharghar - Elite Enclave, Shop no.05 , Plot no. 260, Kopra Rd, Sector 10, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 410210. for more info visit

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