A Little Something About Driving In Wet Conditions

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 Singapore is located in the tropics, with frequent downpours and some of these can be torrential. If you look up the weather channel or app, it's quite hit and miss, but occasionally, our weather guys get it right. This afternoon was one of them, and there was a pretty big downpour coming back from the goat farm in the Choa Chu Kang area, all the way back to my home. 
So I had to drive on single lanes, dips, potholes then hit the expressway, and the PIE has stretches which are covered in water. Not submerged mind you, which is requires another skillset, but basically there is a few inches of water on the surface and that can be even more dangerous. I witnessed all kinds of driving patterns and as a means of getting it off my chest and also to share and solicit tips on how best to navigate such roads in safety.

So here goes

TLDR

Firstly, make sure your car is up to shape. That means proper tires that aren't slicks that are worn to the barest. Brakes that work, headlights, and other parts that have been regularly serviced. If sending your car for servicing is proving to be too much, maybe it's time to switch to alternate transport. If everyone doesn't do it, the person who suffers will be us, ourselves as we may think we won't knock into others, but others with shoddy tires and brakes will hit our cars too. Either way, there can be lives and limbs at stake. 

Now let's get into some car features that are desirable and we should make sure they work. 

ABS - in this day and age, every car should have it, but well, given that some local drivers would rather get nice leather seats and forego safety features, some of the important things that protect us can be neglected.

DRL - daytime driving lights make us visible and in particular, a sensor that turns on the lights when it gets dark is important. I've seen drivers driving at night, who are blissfully oblivious to the fact that their headlights are not turned on 

The distance monitoring and auto brake mechanisms are not compulsory and I know some have said it doesn't work, but I've had plenty of times where the system has proven to be a real boon and I am grateful for it

So let's come to the kinds of drivers we may see 

First are the blur sods, who don't turn on the lights in a storm or downpour and don't care about making themselves more visible

Then come the leeches, these chaps drive way too close to the front car, and you should at least double the braking distance in wet conditions, but they continue to drive as though they are surgically attached to the car in front

The slammers are next. They are often related to the leeches, since they drive so close that they need to slam the brakes in order to avoid hitting the car in front. Other slammers will slam on the brakes whenever they anything they are not familiar with, such as a puddle, so they hurtle along at speeds where they are not in full control of the car then slam the brakes when there's water, and either hydroplane or skid. Either way, it's not good for those drivers around them. Avoid at all cost.

The weavers are next.. signalling is optional for them, and they will go from the outer lane to the middle and back with no car for the cars around them. Sometimes they may even be holding their handphones. 

How about driver awareness? 

So, knowing how to drive in wet weather is very important, and given that floods occur here far more often than the claimed once in 50 years, well, we should be aware.

For deeper water, some basic notes:

- know your car - what's the clearance? Most sedans and MPVs won't be higher than 155 or 160mm. And you need a lot more to wade through anything more than a puddle

- don't slow down, but instead downshift a gear or two and step on the gas. Keep the water from entering your tailpipe

I love my paddle shifters. In fact I use them in manual mode most of the time, even though I have an auto (DCT). In such situations, it's really easy to drop two gears and rev up and then go one gear up and accelerate

- look ahead, are the road kerbs visible? Chances are, if they are gone, it's too deep for your car unless you have a Pajero with a snorkel

- see where other cars have gone and follow, but not too closely so you don't drink their backwash or worse, they stall and you're stuck

- if water does stall your car, that's not good news, so it's best to avoid going in so you don't regret. Unless your wife is about to pop, it's not worth it

I'm not expert, but having driven locally, and overseas a fair bit, in all four seasons, I have seen quite a few road conditions, but I'm still learning. 

 

If you start to skid, don’t panic! Remain calm, even if you lose control of your vehicle. Try to keep a clear head and steer in the direction you want to go. DO NOT slam on the breaks-this will make you slide and overcorrect.

Hydroplaning while in cruise control will cause your car to go faster than if you were driving the car manually

Do not touch electrically-conductive surfaces. Metal surfaces in your car are dangerous if you're driving in very close proximity to lightning, since metal conducts electricity easily (leading to electric shocks). If you're driving in very close proximity to lightning, it's best to pull over, activate the emergency blinkers, turn off the car, and keep your hands in your lap until the storm is a safe distance away.

I once drove in UK during the storm of the century. I was going up to York, when a huge column of water hit me on the highway and I lost visibility for a few seconds. It felt like ages, and thankfully I was in a C Class, which held steady and I just resisted hitting the brakes, and instead let it coast. I had also taken note of the road so before that, so I wouldn't hit the railing but it was rather unnerving. 

So back to my road trip. It began in sunny conditions, but the weather forecast predicted heavy rains, so I rigged for wet conditions, and kept a large brolly handy for my family. True enough, it poured just as we decided to go home. 

So along LCK road, just outside the farms, the roads dip and there are also small streams adjacent that may overflow onto the road when there's a downpour. My suggestion is to sit it out in a coffeeshop somewhere first if possible. If not, then pay attention to the techniques to go through wet roads posted above. Also note, there are some heavy trucks passing on the other side and you need to know how the road bends or goes, and know how to react when a wall of water hits you. 

There is an urge to slam on the brakes, but do resist that, or check whether there's anyone behind you, and also know how the road bends. Basically if you lose visibility, you can actually just coast or use the engine brake to slow down and very soon, within seconds, the water will run down your windscreen and you can drive normally. 

So back to the PIE, and there are stretches which collect water and you need to be aware. Hurtling down the road at 90 kmh can be a bit too fast for these stretches. Like LCK road, you may also get splashed and lose visibility, so beware of the slammers, so stay far away from them. Others weaver about, trying to find a patch of dry road, without signalling. The slammers also brake hard just before a wet patch with scant regards for those behind, so keep a healthy distance and double that. 
Keep your lights on too and so you are visible to those around you. Having wipers that automatically adjust to the rain is handy as well. 

What lights to use?

https://www.championautoparts.eu/news/types-of-car-lights.html

 

More about keeping your distance, because not all drivers are created equal... I personally saw one driver weaving here and there in a fancy Merc SUV, and he slammed the brakes before a wet patch and skidded a bit. Thankfully, he did not hit anyone or anything. I kept a healthy distance, and whilst he was hogging the first lane, going at 50 kmh, I did not want to get any closer. When we climbed a flyover where the roads were drier, I took the chance to overtake him. There were others struggling, slamming, and weaving, plus a couple of cars without the lights on, so everyone do drive safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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