Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DMNG IN THE RAlN
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Rain and wet roads can mean driving trouble. On a wet road you can't
stop, accelerate or turn as well because your tire-to-road traction isn't as
good as on dry roads. And, if your tires don't have much tread left, you'll
get even less traction.
It's always wise to go slower and be cautious if rain starts to fall while you
are driving. The surface may get wet suddenly when your reflexes are
tuned for driving on dry pavement.
The heavier the rain, the harder it is to see. Even if your windshield wiper
blades are in good shape, a heavy rain can make it harder to see road
signs and traffic signals, pavement markings, the edge
of the road, and
even people walking.
Road spray can often be worse for vision than rain,
especially if it comes from a dirty road.
So it is wise to keep your wiping equipment in good shape and keep your
windshield washer tank filled. Replace your windshield wiper inserts
when they show signs
of streaking or missing areas on the windshield, or
when strips of rubber start to separate from the inserts.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine i .. .
Driving too fast through large water puddles or even going through some
car washes can cause problems, too. The water may affect your brakes.
Try to avoid puddles. But if you can’t, try to slow down before you hit
them.
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A CAUTION:
Wet brakes can cause accidents. They won’t work well in a quick
stop and may cause pulling to one side. You could lose control of
the vehicle.
After driving through a large puddle of water Or a car wash,
apply your brake pedal lightly until your brakes work normally.
Hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is dangerous. So much water can build up under your tires
that they can actually ride on the water. This can happen if the road is wet
enough and you’re going fast enough. When your vehicle is hydroplaning,
it has little or no contact with the road.
You might not be aware
of hydroplaning. You could drive along for some
time without realizing your tires aren’t in constant contact with the road.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine You could find out the hard way: when you have to slow, turn, move out
to pass
-- or if you get hit by a gust of wind. You could suddenly find
yourself out of control.
Hydroplaning doesn’t happen often. But it can if your tires haven’t much
tread
or if the pressure in one or more is low. It can happen if a lot of
water is standing on the road. If you can see reflections from trees,
telephone poles, or other vehicles, and raindrops “dimple” the water’s
surface, there could be hydroplaning.
Hydroplaning usually happens at higher speeds. There just isn’t
a hard
and fast rule about hydroplaning. The best advice is to slow down when it
is raining, and be careful.
Some Other Rainy Weather Tips
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Turn on your headlights -- not just your parking lights -- to help make
you more visible to others.
Look for hard-to-see vehicles coming from behind. You may want to
use your headlights even in daytime if it’s raining hard.
Besides slowing down, allow some extra following distance. And be
especially careful when you pass another vehicle. Allow yourself more
clear room ahead, and be prepared to have your view restricted by
road spray.
If the road spray is so heavy you are actually blinded, drop
back. Don’t pass until conditions improve. Going more slowly is better
than having an accident.
Use your defogger if it helps.
Have good tires with proper tread depth. (See “Tires”
in the Index.)
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine DRZWNG IN FOG, MISTAND HAZE
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Fog can occur with high humidity or heavy frost. It can be so mild that
you
can see through it for several hundred feet (meters). Or it might be
so thick that you can see only a few feet (meters) ahead. It may come
suddenly to an otherwise clear road. And it can be
a major hazard.
When you drive into a fog patch, your visibility will be reduced quickly.
The biggest dangers are striking the vehicle ahead or being struck by the
one behind.
Try to “read” the fog density down the road. If the vehicle
ahead starts to become less clear or, at night,
if the taillights are harder to
see, the fog is probably thickening. Slow down to give traffic behind you a
chance to slow down. Everybody then has a better chance to avoid hitting
the vehicle ahead.
A patch of dense fog may extend only for a few feet (meters) or for miles
(kilometers);
you can’t really tell while you’re in it. You can only treat the
situation with extreme care.
One common fog condition
-- sometimes called mist or ground fog -- can
happen
in weather that seems perfect, especially at night or in the early
morning in valley and low, marshy areas. You can be suddenly enveloped
in thick, wet haze that may even coat your windshield. You can often spot
these
fog patches or mist layers with your headlights. But sometimes they
can be waiting for you
as you come over a hill or dip into a shallow valley.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine I I
Start your windshield wipers and washer, to help clear accumulated road
dirt. Slow down carefully.
Tips on Driving in Fog
If you get caught in fog, turn your headlights on low beam, even in
daytime. You’ll see -- and be seen -- better.
Don’t use your high beams. The light will bounce off the water droplets
that make up fog and reflect back at you.
Use your defogger.
In high humidity, even a light buildup of moisture on
the inside
of the glass will cut down on your already limited visibility. Run
your windshield wipers and washer occasionally. Moisture can build up
on the outside glass, and what seems to be fog may actually be moisture
on the outside of your windshield.
Treat dense fog as an emergency.
Try to find a place to pull off the road.
Of course you want to respect another’s property, but you might need to
put something between you and moving vehicles
-- space, trees, telephone
poles, a private driveway, anything that removes you from other traffic.
If visibility is near zero and you must stop but are unsure whether you are
away from the road, turn your lights on, start your hazard warning
flashers, and sound your horn at intervals or when you hear approaching
traffic.
Pass other vehicles in fog only if you can see far enough ahead to pass
safely. Even then, be prepared to delay your pass if you suspect the fog is
worse up ahead.
If other vehicles try to pass you, make it easy for them.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine CITYDlUPTNG
One of the biggest problems with city streets is the amount of traffic on
them. You’ll want to watch out for what the other drivers are doing and
pay attention to traffic signals.
Here are ways to increase your safety in city driving:
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Know the best way to get to where you are going. Try not to drive
around trying to pick out a familiar street or landmark. Get
a city map
and plan your trip into an unknown part
of the city just as you would
for a cross-country trip.
Try to use the freeways that rim and crisscross most large cities. You’ll
save time and energy.
(See the next section, “Freeway Driving.”)
Treat a green light as a warning signal.
A traffic light is there because
the corner is busy enough to need it. When a light turns green, and
just before you start
to move, check both ways for vehicles that have
not cleared the intersection
or may be running the red light.
Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Obey all posted speed limits. But remember that they are for ideal
road, weather and visibility conditions. You may need to drive below
the posted limit in bad weather or when visibility is especially poor.
Pull to the right (with care) and stop clear of intersections when you
see or hear emergency vehicles.
FREEWAYDWNG
Mile for mile, freeways (also called thruways, parkways, expressways,
turnpikes, or superhighways) are the safest
of all roads. But they have
their own special rules.
The most important advice on freeway driving is: Keep up with traffic and
keep to the right. Drive
at the same speed most of the other drivers are
driving. Too-fast
or too-slow driving breaks a smooth traffic flow. Treat
the left lane
on a freeway as a passing lane.
Entering the Freeway
At the entrance there is usually a ramp that leads to the freeway. If you
have a clear view
of the freeway as you drive along the entrance ramp,
you should begin to check traffic. Try to determine where you expect to
blend with the
flow. If traffic is light, you may have no problem. But if it is
heavy, find a gap as you move along the entering lane and time your
approach.
Try to merge into the gap at close to the prevailing speed.
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Downloaded from www.Manualslib.com manuals search engine Switch on your turn signal, check your rearview mirrors as you move
along, and glance over your shoulder as often as necessary.
Try to blend
smoothly with the traffic
flow.
Driving on the Freeway
Once you are on the freeway, adjust your speed to the posted limit or to
the prevailing rate if it’s slower. Stay in the right lane unless you want to
pass. If you are on
a two-lane freeway, treat the right lane as the slow lane
and the left lane as the passing lane.
If you are on a three-lane freeway, treat the right lane as the slower-speed
through lane, the middle lane as the higher-speed through lane, and the
left
lane as the passing lane.
Before changing lanes, check your rearview mirrors. Then use your turn
signal.
Just before you leave the lane, glance quickly over your shoulder to make
sure there isn’tanother vehicle in your “blind” spot.
If you are moving from an outside to a center lane on a freeway having
more than two lanes, make sure another vehicle isn’t about to move into
the same spot.
Look at the vehicles two lanes over and watch for telltale
signs: turn signals flashing, an increase in speed, or moving toward the
edge
of the lane. Be prepared to delay your move.
Once
you are moving on the freeway, make certain you allow a
reasonable following distance. Expect to move slightly slower at night.
Leaving the Freeway
When you want to leave the freeway, move to the proper lane well in
advance. Dashing across lanes at the last minute is dangerous. If you miss
your exit do not, under any circumstances, stop and back up. Drive on to
the next exit.
At each exit point is a deceleration lane. Ideally it should be long enough
for you to enter it at freeway speed (after signaling,
of course) and then
do your braking before moving onto the exit ramp. Unfortunately, not all
deceleration lanes are long enough
-- some are too short for all the
braking. Decide when to start braking. If you must brake
on the through
lane, and if there
is traffic close behind you, you can allow a little extra
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