CINCINNATI -- Even if you didn’t lose power, foliage or shingles in Friday night’s powerful storms, you probably came up against one of the most widespread dangers caused by bad weather: Slick, dangerous roads.
According to the American Automobile Association, wet pavement plays a role in 1.2 million crashes each year. Rain and fog also reduce driver visibility, making it more difficult to see the other vehicles behind and around your own.
Mike Belcuore, a manager at AAA Driving School, said a few quick tips can help drivers stay safer when the skies open up.
- Add distance between yourself and the other cars on the road. Belcuore recommended that, for every adverse driving condition, you put another second between yourself and the nearest vehicles.
- Don’t use cruise control. It increases your vehicle’s chance of losing traction on the road.
- Don’t slam the brakes if you begin to skid. This might feel like the wisest thing to do, but you retain more control of your car if you instead steer in the direction you want it to go.
- Don’t think the danger is over because the rain has stopped. Any time there’s wet pavement, there’s a reason to take your journey slowly and carefully.
State law in Ohio requires that your headlights come on whenever your windshield wipers are in use; in Indiana, headlights are required between sunrise and sunset as well as any time visibility is low.
If you want to stay as safe as possible, however, AAA recommends that you keep your headlights on whenever you hit the road. Even if it’s not dark or stormy, they give other drivers one more chance to recognize that you’re around and avoid a dangerous run-in.
