Driving In Adverse Weather Conditions

Adverse weather results in thousands of accidents all over the country, every year. Inclement weather can cause very dangerous road conditions, impact your ability to see, and can even affect the traction your car has on the road. You need to adjust your driving habits to match the conditions at hand, to avoid doing harm to your car, yourself and other people on the road.

Discover some important information about driving in adverse weather conditions, how to keep safe and how a Mobile, Alabama car accident attorney can help you.

Adverse Weather Conditions

When we talk about adverse weather conditions, we’re talking about everything from heavy morning fog to major snow and ice storms, and everything in between. Whenever there’s even a bit of drizzle, you should adapt your driving habits accordingly. Each type of bad weather has its own unique factors for which you need to account, but your general means of adapting is going to be similar across the board.

How Bad Weather Affects You

For the most part, there are two potential ways in which bad weather can affect you. These are reducing your visibility and affecting the traction you have on the road. Different levels of hazards will affect you in different ways, and many people don’t realize that even particularly hot weather can create dangerous driving conditions by causing your car to overheat.

Low Visibility

Conditions like fog, sun glare, heavy rain, headlight glare and darkness all create conditions where it’s hard to see. The biggest thing you can do to mitigate these conditions is to slow down. When you drive more slowly you get more time to react to unfortunate and unforeseen situations, and your car can more easily stop. If you’re dealing with circumstances like fog or rain, never use your high beams — they will reflect off the water particles in the air and blind you, making the problem worse!

Traction Problems

When you’re facing issues like snow, ice, or even rain, the traction your tires have can be greatly lessened, causing you to have problems stopping, turning or generally controlling your car. Snow and ice, obviously, create slippery conditions where there’s nothing for your tires to grip. Rain can cause you to hydroplane, which is when your tires are actually floating off the road on a cushion of water. Either way, your best bet is to take it slow.

If you start to slip, don’t jam on your brakes; the harder you press down, the more dangerous the condition and the less control you have. If you have anti-lock brakes, they will pump for you and you’ll feel the vibration. If you don’t have ABS, pump your brakes calmly. If you start to spin, turn into the spin, not away from it. This will help you get control of your vehicle.

Working with an Attorney

Of course, no matter how careful you are in driving, you can always be victim to an accident caused by someone else’s carelessness. When this happens and you get seriously hurt, you deserve compensation for the injuries you’ve suffered. Your best bet is to work with a qualified attorney, such as one from Andy Citrin Injury Attorneys.