Safety on the Road this rainy season

Safety on the Road this rainy season:

For the past few months there have been heavy downpours in most parts of Kenya. Due to the heavy rain, thunderstorm and lightning, there is a great risk for safety of road users that the authorities should monitor effectively. Due to this, there are heavy crawls with drivers fighting each other to find their way. Some do not bother about the pedestrians on the road.

Concrete roads are very slippery; Bridges and flyovers can also be extra slippery, so drive carefully over these areas. More than anything goes slower in the rains. It's that simple. Adopt a conservative driving style and plan for a longer travel time. For instance, brake earlier and with lesser force than you would in the dry. The taxi behind you is running on 3 year old wet drum brakes! If you would have squeezed into that small gap on a dry day, refrain from doing so in the rains. Steer and brake with a light touch. Prevent skids by driving slowly and carefully, especially on the curves. A gentle approach is the key here. 

Due to heavy rain, the visibility is also reduced and the lane markings are not clear. The white lanes, yellow lanes and other pedestrian lanes should be painted in such way that during night rain or bad weather conditions, these lanes can glow and the road users are able to see them clearly. But we find roads here in Kenya are not well marked.

What you do, avoid for safety on the road.

• Switch on your low beam headlights in the rains, whether night or day. Not only can it potentially improve your vision, headlamps will also let others see you better. Avoid using high beam in the rains as it can reflect light as well as blind oncoming traffic.

• Use your turn signals liberally. Strictly no sudden lane changing maneuvers either.

• Maintain a safe distance with the car ahead, one that's twice as longer than in the dry. Braking distances are severely affected on wet roads.

• If you experience heavy rains on the highway, follow a conservatively driven bus / truck with working stoplights. However, don’t follow it too closely else the spray from its huge tyres will impair your vision.

• Engine braking has certain advantages on slippery roads. That said, use engine braking in a smooth transitional manner, and in a combination with your regular brakes. Your brakes lights will let the car behind know of your intentions to stop / slow down.

• Avoid driving on lane cuts or lane divide lines; your car will tramline much easier in the rains. Also, try to stay off the paint on the road (zebra crossings, lane markers etc.) as the painted surface is low on traction.

Windscreen / Window fogging:

Window fogging occurs due to a temperature difference between the inside surface of your glass and the outside. For example, if you drive without the air-con and all your windows are shut, the cabin is warmer than the outside, resulting in the window fogging up from inside. On the other hand, if you run your air-con on full blast mode, the interiors of your car will be colder than the outside. Thus, your glasses will fog up from the outside.

• When the windows fog from the inside, the best thing to do is to switch the air-con on. It will clear up the screens in a jiffy. The situation is a little tricker when the windows fog up from the outside. The ideal solution is to roll down the windows a little, and let the air flow more or less neutralize the temperature difference.

• It is important to maintain the right temperature balance between the inner & exterior sides of glass. Don't turn your air-con to full blast. Keep it at a level which is just about comfortable. Don’t forget to keep the air-con on fresh air / ventilation mode.

We cannot forget the flooded areas.

 

• When in a flooded area, choose the first gear, slip the clutch and keep the revs high enough to ensure that exhaust gases are pushed out of the tail pipe. Do NOT stop revving. The car speed matter allots keep it low. If your car stalls, it is very difficult to start it again.

• If you aren’t sure about the depth of the flood, do NOT drive through it. Taking an alternate route is best. If you just have to use that stretch, wait until another car / bus attempts to pass the flood, and gauge its depth. Never drive through a flood unless you know how deep it is and that your car can handle it.

• Switch off your air-con before entering the flooded area.

• Always keep your windows slightly open when traveling through a flooded area. If you get stuck, you can shout for help or even force the window down

• If your car does stall, do not attempt to restart. This may lead to engine hydro lock. You first need to check if any water has entered the air intake or exhaust pipe.

• Once out of the water trap, pump / tap your brakes to dry the drums and discs off.

Always be careful as you drive not only during but all time.