Slow down: Driving too fast for conditions is
especially dangerous on wet pavement because your tires lose traction
with the precipitation, Van Tassel says. “When roadways are wet, the
friction is reduced between the tire and the road,” Hersman adds. No
friction is a bad thing. Tires are meant to grip the roads, not slide on
them.
How much does traction decline in wet weather? “You might lose about one-third of your traction,” Van Tassel says. And that figure is why this recommendation makes sense: Reduce your speed by about a third when it’s wet or rainy. If the speed limit is 55 mph, aim for under 40 mph. “That is not a hard statistic but a rule of thumb,” he says.
Back off: Forget the old rule about keeping a certain number of car lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you, Van Tassel says. Focus on staying 3-4 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you in dry conditions. Watch the vehicle in front of you as it passes a fixed marker, such as a street light, he says. Then count 3 seconds. Add more time if it’s raining, staying about 5 seconds behind.
For each additional driving challenge, add another second, Van Tassel says. If it’s raining and you are driving at night, you should aim to be 6 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you.
If possible — and in heavy traffic, it might not always be — try to keep from being boxed in by cars in the lanes on either side of you, Van Tassel says. If you have space on either side of your car, you have an easy out in case the vehicle ahead of you stops suddenly.
How much does traction decline in wet weather? “You might lose about one-third of your traction,” Van Tassel says. And that figure is why this recommendation makes sense: Reduce your speed by about a third when it’s wet or rainy. If the speed limit is 55 mph, aim for under 40 mph. “That is not a hard statistic but a rule of thumb,” he says.
Back off: Forget the old rule about keeping a certain number of car lengths between you and the vehicle in front of you, Van Tassel says. Focus on staying 3-4 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you in dry conditions. Watch the vehicle in front of you as it passes a fixed marker, such as a street light, he says. Then count 3 seconds. Add more time if it’s raining, staying about 5 seconds behind.
For each additional driving challenge, add another second, Van Tassel says. If it’s raining and you are driving at night, you should aim to be 6 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you.
If possible — and in heavy traffic, it might not always be — try to keep from being boxed in by cars in the lanes on either side of you, Van Tassel says. If you have space on either side of your car, you have an easy out in case the vehicle ahead of you stops suddenly.