Miscellaneous

Just Driving in the Rain

February 2, 2010 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Maybe it is because I am getting older, but driving my car in the rain is no longer fun. I tend to slow down, but it seems that others speed up in spite of the slick conditions. Add to the problem dark conditions and the invention of halogen headlights along with the ever increasing high profile vehicles and the anxiety increases. Pickup trucks seem to get higher and higher as well as vans and SUV’s. The Department of Transportation tries to assist me in my compact car to stay on the road by painting lines down the middle and along the shoulder of the road. However, when it is raining, those bright lights from above, both street lights and oncoming headlights, mix with the rain to cause the lines to disappear.

What can an old driver like me, or even a young driver, do? An obvious answer is “Park and pray while waiting for the rain to stop.” However, I recently got an e-mail with a partial solution to the problem outlined above. It was one of those things which, at first, I thought, “Are you kidding me?” But, having been raised in the land of Cajuns who satisfy their “big curious” by doing their own research, I decided to become an investigator myself. The suggested solution to glare, at night, during a rain storm, while driving was, put on your sunglasses. My “big curious” told me, what have you got to lose? So, during a heavy rain storm while driving to Mid-night Mass Christmas Eve in Franklin, I tried it. I put on my sunglasses. Wow! It worked. Not that it made my vision perfectly clear, but the sunglasses did reduce the glare. I could see much better.

It did not take long for my eyes to adjust. I was reminded of preparing to go onto the bridge of the Naval Ship to which I was assigned in 1977, for the mid watch while at sea. I would go into a dark room to allow the irises of my eyes to enlarge. The passageways to the bridge had low intensity red lights so I could find my way, but still allow my eyes to see in the dark.

I don’t expect anyone to accept this without your own experimentation. I feel certain that you will find that the sunglasses assist in improving your safety during and after a rain storm.

And while talking about improving your safety while driving in the rain, day or night, turn off your cruise control as well. I love cruise control and wish I had it installed in all the vehicles I drive. However, when the streets or roads are wet, it has the potential to cause an accident. We all know that hydroplaning on a wet surface often causes a vehicle to go out of control. Hydroplaning while the cruise control is engaged, can be deadly. Your vehicle will try to speed up while hydroplaning. The cruise control believes that the vehicle has slowed down, therefore tells the engine to accelerate. When the drive wheels make contact with the road surface again, the vehicle will likely go out of control. Just revert to the old system of controlling speed with the accelerator.

My suggestion to you is to keep your sunglasses with you and use them at night during a rain storm and turn off the cruise control when the rain first starts. It could help prevent an accident and even, may save your life.

By Charlie Schoenbrodt