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7 Tips to Improve Your Car's Visibility During Monsoons

Team AckoJan 17, 2024

Driving your car when it’s raining might be a blissful experience. You can enjoy abundant greenery, lesser traffic, and picturesque scenery. However, operating in the monsoon is not without challenges.

Besides poor visibility, you must prepare to deal with low tyre traction, low reaction times, disguised potholes, and braking issues during the monsoon. So, improving visibility is crucial for driving safely in the rainy season.

This article provides the seven best monsoon driving tips to ensure you hit the road only when you are prepared to tackle the challenges of driving in the rainy season.

Contents

Monsoon Car Tips: Proven Ways to Drive Safely During the Monsoon
Monsoon Car Driving Tips - Things to Consider
Frequently asked questions

Monsoon Car Tips: Proven Ways to Drive Safely During the Monsoon

Light or heavy rain can affect a driver’s central and peripheral vision.

For instance, your car’s windshield wipers might not function efficiently if it rains heavily, thereby blocking your central vision. Also, since the window shields on both sides of your car typically remain closed, you may not observe what’s happening beside you, blocking your peripheral vision.

Rain also causes the headlight beam to scatter, affecting its performance. So, you may face problems seeing other cars, road signs, and pedestrians.

The following are the seven highly effective monsoon car driving tips to help you avert the dangers of driving in the monsoon:

Inspect Your Car’s Windshield Wipers Regularly

Windshield wipers are an essential part of any car, whether big or small. But frequent or no usage can reduce its efficiency.

So, you must check your car’s windshield before hitting the road. Look for cracks and repair or replace them if required. Moreover, it is vital to increase or decrease the wiper’s speed depending on the intensity of the rain. So, switch on the wiper and change its speed to check how it reacts.

If you want to replace your windshield wiper, use the size and brand specified by the car manufacturer. This is because windshield wipers are usually make-year-and-model specific, and a different wiper size might not provide optimal performance.

Defogging Windows is Important

It is natural to close your car windows when it rains outside. However, when you close the windows, the temperature inside your car changes, causing the windshield to become foggy.

While some cars already have the defogging or defrosting system installed, others do not. Before taking out your car in the monsoon, check whether your vehicle has the defogging system inbuilt or not. You must install the front and rear defogging/defrosting systems without delay if it is not inbuilt.

Turn on the Headlights

Many drivers forget to turn on the headlights before switching on the windshield wipers. However, turning on the headlights before activating the wipers is essential. Switching on the headlights provides you with better visibility and makes your car more noticeable on the road. It is good to check the power and efficiency of your car’s headlights before every monsoon.

Besides switching on the headlights, you may also keep all four indicators in blink mode. Hence, one of the best monsoon driving tips is to keep your headlights and indicators always on when it rains.

Never Change Lanes or Overtake

While the indicators can make your car more visible on a wet street, you should still refrain from overtaking or changing lanes without proper signalling.

Tracking other cars in the same lane during the monsoon is wise. If you trail another vehicle, you can get a fair idea of the road ahead. This can enhance safety and prevent you from making a wrong decision. However, maintain a safe distance from other cars on a wet road since you can brake more efficiently if required.

Slow Down Your Speed

One of the best monsoon car tips is perhaps the simplest to follow—drive at a slow speed. As already mentioned, your car's tyres lose traction on wet roads, known as hydroplaning. So, driving at a slower speed enables you to control your vehicle better.

It is wise to take the 'You First' approach while driving on wet roads. Leave anyone who is in a hurry since your objective is to reach your destination safely.

Stay Away From Standing Water

Standing water refers to a pocket of stagnant water. Standing water usually hides bad patches and potholes on the road. If your car lands on a pothole, you can lose track of the road. It may also reduce the effectiveness of your car's brakes, exposing you to the risk of an accident.

Moreover, when you hit a pothole, the stagnant water (often muddy) may hit your windshield, mirrors, and side windows, blocking your views. To avoid such incidents, staying away from standing or stagnant water is better.

You may overlook standing water or bad patches if you drive too fast on wet roads. So, driving slowly must be followed in conjunction with this monsoon driving tip to avoid mishaps.

Avoid Cruise Control

Modern cars offer many innovative features. One such feature is cruise control, which enables car drivers to maintain the same speed on a long road trip. The cruise control system manages a car's speed through sensors. It automatically understands the road conditions and adjusts the speed.

However, despite the many benefits of the cruise control system, it is wise not to use it during the monsoon. Wet roads might reduce your car tyres' efficiency, and the cruise control system might not perform optimally. Hence, try driving your car without activating cruise control since retaining control of your vehicle helps you be more active.

Now that you know the seven best monsoon car driving tips to improve your visibility in the rainy season, let’s discuss the other factors you should consider before hitting a wet road.

Monsoon Car Driving Tips - Things to Consider

It’s a fact that improving visibility in the rain is possible when you drive an efficient car. However, if your car's parts are old or malfunctioning, it might lead to several problems, including poor visibility during the monsoon. So, here are the things you must consider before taking your car out in the rain.

Inspect The Tyre Treads - Tyre treads are vital because they improve your car’s grip on wet roads. The treads allow water to pass through the channels, increasing the rubber’s efficiency in controlling a vehicle. A bald or worn tyre with no grooves may cause the car to skid, slide, or surf. So, check your car tyres’ tread depth; before you hit the road confidently during monsoons.
Check The Brakes - The list of monsoon car driving tips can never be complete without mentioning the brakes. The brakes are crucial to keeping your car’s control in your hands. Inspect your car’s brakes before the monsoon to maintain a low reaction time. Also, vehicles with ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) are considered safer for wet roads.
Keep an Escape Plan Ready - It is wise to keep an emergency exit plan ready should the worst scenario happen. Check whether your car has an inner boot release system or not. The inner boot avoidance system enables convenient exit through the rear seats if the main doors become jammed. You can use a hammer to break the window if such a system is unavailable. Also, keep a torch, a seatbelt cutter, and a fire extinguisher inside your car.

Evaluate a Waterlogged Street Before Wading - Waterlogged roads might be deceptive since it’s hard to guess the depth. It is good to evaluate the depth of the water before driving on such roads. Spend time before entering a waterlogged street to see how other cars behave on the road. Also, when you enter such roads, keep your car’s rpm high to stop the exhaust from accumulating dirty water. Conclusion

Driving a car during the monsoon is best suited for experts. However, following the seven best monsoon car driving tips mentioned in this article, you can drive safely and reach your destination without hassle.

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions regarding car visibility during monsoon

Is driving during the monsoon dangerous?

Driving a car during the monsoon exposes the driver to many dangers. For example, the driver may face poor visibility, low reaction times, low tyre traction, disguised potholes, and braking issues.

Which monsoon car driving tips are the best?

To drive safely during the monsoon, you should defog your windows, check the windshield wipers, turn on the headlights when driving, and never change lanes. It is also good to drive slowly and behind another car.

Should I turn on the headlights when driving in the rain?

Yes. It would be best if you switched on your car's headlights when driving in the rain. The headlights improve your visibility and make you more noticeable on rainy streets.

What is the ideal speed for driving cars during the monsoon?

Try reducing the speed as much as possible without disrupting traffic when driving in the rainy season. Following a car while maintaining a safe distance rather than leading is good.

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