Law 1Stay in the middle of the road
Roads are constructed so that they're highest in the middle. The difference may be slight, but it causes water to run off the center hump and drain toward the edges. If you're driving in the rain you want to avoid standing water, which means that you want to be where the water isn't and that's in the center of the road. ill be safer as it is slightly higher than the sides- the deep will be smaller.
Law 2
Moderate headlights.
Don't leave those headlights off but don't make then too bright either. When it's raining, what you need your headlights for, even in the daytime, is so that other people can see you. Your headlights help you be seen, you don't want to unintentionally blind people with them either. Other drivers are already having enough trouble finding their way around. Don't dazzle them by turning on your high beams.
Law 3
Don't drive if the windscreen is muddled with rain
You knew this road like the lines on your palm you could drive it blindfolded while sound asleep, you still shouldn't drive it while there's enough water on the windshield to provide a home for a fish. You can not see ahead, you don't necessarily know what's there lurking in the murky, it may be stopped cars in front of you that you can't see. There may even be pedestrians wandering around befuddled in your path. You may not even be driving as straight as you think you are and could be heading straight for a bridge abutment. When visibility gets low, pull off the road as quickly as it's safe to do so. Stop your car. Pop a CD in the dashboard player and listen to soothing music while you wait for things to clear up again.
Law 4
Don't drive through a pool.
if you see water flowing across the road from one side to the other and don't know how deep it is, don't try to drive across it! Every year hapless drivers figure their cars won't be harmed by fording a tiny little stream of rainwater that couldn't be deeper than, oh, an inch or so. You'd be surprised how many of these people then find themselves swept away, off the road and into a vicious current of rainwater that could carry them for hundreds of feet as they desperately try to get out of their car and grab a tree limb to keep from disappearing below the waterline. Better to wait out the storm and the rainwater than to lose your life and quite possibility the lives of those near and dear to you because you thought a little water couldn't hurt you.
And even if the water isn't moving, if the bottom isn't visible you don't know what's underneath it. There could be a pothole the size of a swimming pool. There could be broken glass or nails that fell off a truck. If you can't see the bottom, don't risk putting your tires on the submerged pavement or your life on the line. Either stop a safe distance from the water's edge or, if possible, find a way to drive around it.
Law 5
Lower your speed
When conditions are bad and roads are wet, speed limits are worthless. The worst danger of driving too fast in rain is hydroplaning. Hydroplaning is what happens when your car thinks it's a boat while it's still on the highway. But when the road is wet and you're going too fast, your car can actually begin to float on top of the water and the tire tread loses contact with the road surface. When your tread loses contact with the road surface, you can no longer steer. You can no longer brake. And you often don't know that you're hydroplaning until you hit the brakes and the car goes skidding out of control. Therefore it's better not to travel at hydroplane speeds to begin with.
Warning Note
What do you do if you realize you're hydroplaning and are already out of control? First off, don't panic. Don't hit the brakes, because that just makes it worse. Let up on the accelerator so that any remaining traction can slow your speed. And drive straight. Don't try to turn. If the car is veering off in a direction you don't want to go, don't fight it; just follow your wheels. And as the car slows, suddenly, you'll be back under control.
At this point we recommend getting off the road and giving yourself time for your heart rate to slow back down. You'll need it.
