Even the most experienced drivers can have difficulty driving in the rain. Wet conditions can affect visibility as well as the way your car handles, so it’s important to take extra precautions. Learning how to drive in the rain is an important part of driver’s education. Use the following tips as a starting point and make sure to practice with your instructor.

How to Drive in the Rain

1. Turn on Your Headlights & Windshield Wipers

Improve both your ability to see and the other drivers’ ability to see you on the road by turning on your headlights and windshield wipers. Even if it’s only misting, you shouldn’t neglect either of these crucial steps when driving in the rain.

2. Drive Slowly

Speed limits are calculated for ideal driving conditions, which means that you should drive under the posted speed when conditions are unfavorable. Wet roads have quite a bit less traction than dry ones, and rain makes your car react much slower than it normally does. Give yourself plenty of time to avoid obstacles and correct mistakes by slowing down.

3. Take Precautions to Avoid Hydroplaning

When excess water sits on top of the road, your car can lose traction and begin to slide out of control, which is known as hydroplaning. This can occur at speeds as low as 35 miles per hour with as little as 1/12 of an inch of water on the road.

Avoid standing water to prevent hydroplaning. If it does happen, stay calm and take your foot off the accelerator while steering straight. Don’t turn the steering wheel suddenly or in the opposite direction the car is spinning or slam on the brakes.

4. Don’t Brake Too Quickly

Because wet roads have less traction, stomping on your brakes during rainy conditions can cause you to hydroplane. Avoid situations that require you to brake suddenly by maintaining a safe distance between you and the cars ahead of you. You should also turn off cruise control because this feature does not take wet roads into account and can become dangerous in the rain.

5. Turn on the Ventilation

Humid weather can cause your windows and windshield to fog up when it rains. Turn on your car’s ventilation system and choose the setting that’s designed to remove fog from the glass. Take a few minutes to pull over and wait to regain visibility if you can’t see.

Practice driving in the rain and get trained by a professional driving instructor by contacting Sure-Drive Driver's Training in Villa Hills, KY. The driver’s education instructors at this driving school have been serving the residents of Edgewood, Park Hills, Fort Wright, and Northern Kentucky for more than 25 years. Schedule your driver’s education course today by calling (859) 331-0007 or visit the website for more information.