Wet weather driving: How to stay safe in dismal conditions

While rain is less frequent in the Zululand region during winter, cold fronts moving from coast to coast and even inland sometimes bring heavy rainfall.
This can make driving treacherous for motorists, so it is important to be aware of what to do in case you get caught in rain when travelling.

Tyre safety

Tyres are the most important safety component on any vehicle, being the crucial point of contact between the car and the road, responsible for managing the forces generated when driving.

While handling is fairly predictable in dry conditions, wet roads drastically reduce the grip and control of tyres on the road.

The grooves in the tyre tread are specially designed to channel water away from the road surface, keeping the tyre in contact with the road, so when a tyre wears, these grooves become shallower, displacing less water and requiring longer stopping distances.

Aquaplaning

Every tyre has a limit on the volume of water it can displace via the tread grooves when in motion. Once that limit is exceeded, water accumulates in front of the tyre faster than it can be pushed away, resulting in a layer of water separating the tyre from the road. This is a dangerous situation known as aquaplaning, and results in loss of grip and control.

The tyre’s tread depth and the speed at which a car is travelling contribute to aquaplaning. A worn tyre moving at high speeds cannot displace enough water fast enough, losing contact with the road. When aquaplaning, steering, braking and the use of driver aids become almost completely ineffective until grip is restored.

By this point, it may already be too late to avoid a disastrous accident.

Recommendations

Wet roads also pose other dangers, such as hiding and worsening potholes and other hazards. To reduce the chances of aquaplaning and other dangers on wet roads:

• Replace tyres when they reach a minimum tread depth of 3mm

• Adjust driving behaviour and take extra care when on wet roads – keep greater following distances, brake earlier, and reduce speeds

• Always drive with your lights on, especially when it is both dark and wet

• If you hit a pothole, pull off the road as soon as it is safe to do so to inspect for signs of damage

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