4. The good news, of course, is that almost all
of the state is now free of drought; the bad
news for drivers is that they have to remind
themselves how to drive safely in rain and
on wet roadways.
5. So for all of you Texans, and for anyone else
who needs a set of reminders, here are some
tips that will help you to stay safe when you
are driving in rain.
7. I was taught by my father when I first
learned to drive to use the 2-second
following rule in order to maintain a safe
distance between my vehicle and the one in
front of me.
8. When I am driving in
rain, I make a point of
increasing my following
distance by using the 3-
second rule.
9. We all know that stopping distances are
greater on wet roads and by increasing my
following distance I am giving myself more
space and time to react and stop safely.
10. When it is raining really hard and I am
driving on the freeway, I make it a point to
drive in the same path as the vehicle in front
of me.
11. That drivers tires have just displaced water
in the track that they have driven and by my
driving in that same track I am able to drive
on top of less water and have more contact
with the road surface.
12. During the rains that we had the past May,
there were many cases of drivers who had to
be rescued because they had attempted to
drive trough deep water on top of a
roadway.
13. The rule of thumb here is to never drive on
a wet roadway if the water on top of the
roadway is so deep that you cannot see the
road itself.
14. Even a few inches of
water that is moving
across a roadway can
sweep a car off the
road.
15. If you have any question about the safety of
crossing a roadway with water on top of it,
turn around and find another path to your
destination.
