PETALING JAYA, May 16 — In the last few weeks I have been up and down the North South Expressway between Penang and Petaling Jaya, and on each trip I have been deluged by torrential rains.

As usual, every time it pours, there are accidents on the highways and trunk roads — cars crashing into the road barriers, cars hitting each other and flying off the road despite the fact that they are travelling in the same direction, cars hitting each other on the trunk roads, motorcyclists falling and sliding – all making up the statistics that tell us there was an average of 1,266 accidents a day, with an average of 67 casualties daily, and approximately 19 people die every day. (Source: MIROS, road accidents in Malaysia, 2012).

Motorcyclists make up the highest number of road casualties, but usually there is a car or other four-wheeled vehicles involved. For all types of vehicle accidents, the occurrence is higher when it is raining.

I’d like to share some of the insights of driving safely in the rain here in the hopes that they can contribute to a nation of safer drivers.

Braking distances can more than double in the wet

When the road is wet, braking distances can more than double — this is a very important point to keep in mind when driving in wet conditions.

A good driver is one who knows how to slow down when the road gets wet and slippery, and to maintain a larger gap between himself or herself and the vehicle in front.

Reducing the speed of travel minimizes the stopping distance, and keeping a safe distance away from the car in front provides more time and distance for stopping.

As a rough guide, one should maintain a gap of approximately 50 metres at 100 km/h, in the dry. In wet conditions, I would advocate at least double that. For people who are slow in their reactions, try to maintain a wider gap.

Check your tyre tread depth, change to new tyres for the rainy season

You may have a set of very good tyres on your car, but like all tyres they wear down, so it would be a good idea to periodically check the amount of tread depth on your tyres.

A tyre is always a compromise between road grip and water dispersal. If you watch Formula One, you will note that the “dry” tyres used do not have any grooves in the tread (what we refer to in Malaysia as “flower”).

This is because the amount of grip you can get from the tyre depends on the amount of rubber that is in contact with the road, tyre compound aside.

Then you may have noticed that in the wet, the cars will be struggling for grip, and the drivers will do a pit stop to change into intermediates or wets.

The intermediates and wet tyres have grooves in the tread, which is basically patterns cut into the rubber – these are meant to disperse the water so that the rubber can come into contact with the road.

New tyres will have deeper grooves in them (tread depth) to disperse water on the road, and therefore they will have more grip on the road than an older tyre which would have worn down through usage.

The absolute minimum tread depth is 3mm (which is about the thickness of the old Malaysian 50 sen coin) for dry conditions; in the wet, this minimum tread depth is definitely not enough.

Most tyres also have a Tread Wear Indicator, usually marked TWI on the sides to indicate the minimum tread depth, but again, the marker is for dry usage only.

Tyres may be expensive items, but then again, think of the safety aspects, and the cost of accident repair or worse.

Aqua-planing in the wet

Sometimes referred to as hydro-planing, this is caused in an instance when the grooves in the tyre cannot disperse the water on the road fast enough. Water then builds up on the front edge of the tyre, causing it to “float” on the water.

When this happens, you will lose all sensation of steering, and whilst this is happening, you are just a passenger with no control over your car.

Aqua-planing usually happens when there is excessive water on the road, be it from streamlets running across the road surface, or just plain standing water.

Again, newer tyres are less likely to aqua-plane than old, almost “bald” tyres — however, there is a limit to how much the tyre can help, depending on the amount of water on the road.

To prevent a situation of aqua-planing, slow down to a low speed during rain, and keep an eye out for large amounts of water on the road.

If and when aqua-planing occurs, the only way to get out of the situation is to keep a tight hold of the steering, lift off on the accelerator, and wait for the grip to come back as the tyre clears the wet patch.

People generally get into trouble when they instinctively turn the steering as a reaction to the loss of steering feel, and then when the grip comes back after the wet patch, slam into the side barriers because their steering is turned that way.

Beware of reduced visibility during rain

Under wet conditions, visibility is usually compromised by the rain itself, or water spray from vehicles in front. As mentioned above, keep a safe distance away from the cars in front to maintain an appropriate distance for reaction to road situations, and also remember that if you follow too closely, you cannot see what is happening in front of the vehicle in front of you.

Reduced tyre grip in the rain

Do not drive in the rain as you would in the dry. Sadly, many people I know just are not even aware of the fact that grip in the wet is not the same as in the dry.

Top up your windscreen washer liquid, and replace faulty wipers

Use a proper windscreen washing detergent in your windscreen washer, and remember to top up the washing fluid when you fuel up your car.

Your windscreen will collect road grime and grease in wet weather, and this will smear your windscreen when you use your wipers. A good windscreen washing liquid will break up this dirt and improve our visibility.

Faulty wipers refer to old and cracked rubber on the wipers that affect the cleaning action — get them replaced if they cannot wipe cleanly.

Lights on when driving in the wet

Turning your lights on during poor visibility such as during rain or mist is not for you to see the road ahead, but more for others to see you. During rainy conditions, do turn on your lights, even more so if your car is of a dark colour.

Also consciously and periodically check that your lights, especially the tail lights, are working properly, and do not forget your brake lights. It is usually easier to realise if your front headlights are not working, but every once in a while, check the rear end as well.

No hazard lights please

Your hazard lights are for use only during emergencies if your car is stationary or moving extremely slowly; they are definitely not to be used to tell everyone around that it is raining. Also, please remember that your hazard lights are part of the turn signal system, and if your hazard lights are on, you cannot use your turn signals.

Importance of proper wheel alignment in the wet

There are only four patches of rubber the size of your palm in contact with the road. Road grip, braking and your control of your car rests solely upon these four tiny patches of rubber. A proper wheel alignment set-up ensures the optimum contact of these four patches with the road, so it is important.

If your car pulls to one side during braking due to improper alignment, think of what will happen if you had to brake hard in the wet. Improper alignment also compromises the road grip, and in wet conditions, grip is everything.

Handling under steer and over steer

Control of under steer and over steer should be one of the basic building blocks towards being a good driver. If you are reading this part and do not understand what I am saying, then you should enrol yourself in an advanced driving class.

Under steer means a situation wherein you are turning the car steering, but the car does not turn as much as it should. This means you are probably going into the bend too fast or the road is wet, which means you are again going in too fast.

To get out of trouble in an under steer situation, lift off on the accelerator, and turn in a little more. As you lift off, the weight will transfer to the front of your vehicle, giving it more grip, and help you to turn in. As your car responds, do not forget to correct your steering, or else you will go into an over steer situation.

Over steer occurs when your car turns more than you desired, which probably means your tail has started on a mission to overtake your front. To counter this, look in the direction you think you should be heading in (like trying to stay on the road), and steer in that direction. Again, do not forget to correct your steering as the car responds or else you may over steer in the opposite direction.

Driving a vehicle, like it or not, consumes a large part of our lives. We go to and from work every day; we sometimes drive long distances, either on holiday or on work trips, and we all pay a lot of money to buy and upkeep nice vehicles. More importantly, we carry precious cargo (ourselves included) all the time, so it is only right that we should do the right things when it comes to driving.