Ideally, you should avoid driving in bad weather, but it can strike unexpectedly. Check the weather forecast if you are heading out as the weather might turn on you, and always choose the safer route over the quicker one.
Once on the road, here are a few tips to help keep you safe:
- Drive more slowly than usual.
- Maintain a greater following distance than you would in fine weather.
- Avoid sudden braking or sharp turns – these can cause skids.
- Dip your headlights on foggy, snowy, or very cloudy days.
- Use the lowest reasonable gear when travelling downhill, and the highest going uphill.
- Watch out for shady areas of the road on cold days, as ice will form faster and linger in these cooler spots.
- Be aware of black ice, which is particularly slippery – it can appear as a glossy sheen on the road but is sometimes impossible to spot. Black ice is most common on quiet roads.
- Slow down on bridges, flyovers, in tunnels, and shady patches on the road.
- If you’re travelling at dawn, be wary of frost.
- On stormy and windy days, take corners slowly as trees or debris may have been blown onto the road.
Information from AA.co.nz
