Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions

~ John W. Howell
Image by Kosta from Pixabay

 

This post was published in 2014 by Marie Ann Bailey and me. Since we all tend to drive in bad weather, hopefully it will still be helpful.

 

Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions

10. When driving in heavy rain, do not think it’s a good time to tap into your inner child and race your car through flooded areas of the road.  If you do, at best, you’ll just irritate the drivers around you who will be splashed in your wake.  At worst, your car will stall at the next intersection, where you find out that the “water” you were racing through is really the effluent from a broken sewer main.

9. When driving in heavy rain, do not forget to turn on your headlights so your car will be seen by other vehicles.  If you do forget, at best, you may just have a couple of near-misses as cars turn abruptly in front of you because they didn’t see your dark gray car approach the intersection through the gray sheet of rain.  At worst, you may wind up wishing your car had been a neon pink color instead of dark gray after you get the bill for the fender-bender you caused.

8. When driving in heavy rain, do not think that you can safely drive at the speed you drive in good weather.  If you do, at best, the drag from the inches of standing water on the road will slow you down anyway.  At worst, you might suddenly find yourself hydroplaning and, even more unfortunately, heading straight for the broken sewer main.

7. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think that you can save time by having the ice on your windshield defrost while you are driving.  If you do, at best, everyone else will have stayed home, and you’ll have the road to yourself, thereby avoiding crashing into anyone.  At worst, your insurance company won’t buy your story that the two small holes you scraped from your windshield should have been enough for you to avoid hitting the tractor-trailer when you passed into its lane.

6. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your fellow commuters will find it amusing if you put a sleigh and reindeer antlers on the roof of your car and honk at everyone to let you through because you are Santa Claus.  If you do, at best, the other motorists will let you through because they think you’re crazy and want to get as far away from you as possible.  At worst, the other motorists will let you through straight to a highway patrol car waiting just for you.

5. When driving in a snowstorm, do not think your passengers will find it funny if you pretend to have snow blindness.  If you do, at best, your passengers will help you to pull the car over so one of them will take over the driving (which was your intent anyway but you knew they wouldn’t do it if you just asked).  At worst, your passengers will help you to pull the car over, but then leave you stranded on the shoulder because they know you were faking.

4. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it would be a good idea to suddenly pull over and collect the hail because you’ve never seen it before.  If you do, at best, you’ll just have some motorists honk at you while you pack a few hailstones into your lunch bag.  At worst, you’ll have a hard time convincing your boss that you’re late for work because when you stopped to collect hailstones, you got knocked out cold by a big one, and that is why you are acting drunk at noon.

3. When driving in a sudden hail storm, do not think it is a good time to pull out your golf club and try some putting, no matter how obsessed with golf you are.  If you do, at best, you’ll get the usual honks and rubbernecking from other motorists who are trying to figure out why you’re on the shoulder of the road swinging a golf club.  At worst, see #4.

2. When driving during a heavy weather warning, do not think this is a good time to reenact a scene from your favorite Storm Chasers episode.  If you do, at best, the storm cell never materializes, and you simply waste a tank of gas looking for it.  At worst, you wake up in another state but without ruby slippers.

1. When driving during a hurricane, … oh, please, just don’t!

 

80 thoughts on “Top Ten Things Not To Do When Driving in Bad Weather Conditions”

  1. Great list, John.

    #7 is such a common sight here in New England, John. I’ve seen people hunched over trying to drive while looking through the tiniest sliver of clear glass.

    I would add, not removing the ice and snow from your roof, and letting the wind take care of that on the highway, plastering the people behind you. That one is now illegal in CT, but…

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  6. Very imaginative with this list. I would also recommend being careful when trying to change radio stations or drinking anything, that momentarily diverts your attention from the road. Pedestrians may be as much as a problem as automobiles since sidewalks may not be shoveled so people walk in the comparatively plowed streets. And everything is icy, whether you can visually tell or not.

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  7. These are great, John, and I have to say I’ve seen some of them. I learned to drive in snow in New England, but most of the drivers in NC quail at the thought of a single snow flake. And yet they drive – right off the road!

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    1. Ha ha ha. Yeah, I cut my teeth in Michigan. No better place to learn about the hazards of driving on snow and ice. I love to watch the Texans in their jacked-up 4×4 pickups hit the ditch.

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      1. There are so many cars with their front ends in ditches, and their rears in the air, I told my husband it looked like a used car lot for tombstones. I hope you and your wife and the girls are enjoying the season!

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  9. So many on this list…! #10–my husband always shakes his head at those crazies racing through a flooded area. #6–those antlers on car roofs make me laugh, but no way am I clearing the way for Prancer and Vixen. And #1–don’t even.

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  10. Don’t forget slamming on the binders when coming up to a stoplight on a snow-covered street. At best, you’ll just sail through the intersection and regain control of the car. At worst, you will sail through the intersection and smash into a police car.

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  15. Oh, dear. If I had a nickel for every vehicle on the road that looks more like a moving snowball, I might be rich! Why do folks think a quarter-sized patch of windshield is sufficient for driving?? Great list, John.

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  20. We went up Interstate 5 last year during the holiday season. I’ll never do that again. There were cars scattered everywhere from spinouts. Still, that didn’t stop the yahoos from driving 70 mph.

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  21. Sounds like these were based on real life experiences, well maybe not the ruby slippers. Racing your car through flooded areas of the road is a pretty common mistake, which has ruined a lot of cars. Being able to drive through it without floating away is one thing. Your engine surviving the water is another.

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      1. It was a new Audi (2020 maybe) with sensors in the front, sides, to slow you down if you got close to traffic in front. But the rain was so hard and thick, the sensors couldn’t see through them. Amazing stuff. I should have pulled off.

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  24. If only all drivers would adhere to #8, John! I just want to say “Duh!” If the weather’s bad, you don’t drive the same speed. And yet, every year, people do it and they cause crashes. I’ll stop now. LOL And #1 made me smile. I sure wouldn’t!

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  26. You really cut to the chase with #1. Speaking of that, do you know how the term “cut to the chase” came about?

    Mack Sennett was the guy behind the Keystone Kops movies in the early 20th century. The premise of the movies was someone doing something to involve the police. Then the ineffectual kops would come and chase the bad guy. The chase and all the missteps the kops made during it was the whole point of the movie.

    Anyway, when Sennett’s story editors were telling him the plot for the next movie, he’s say, “just cut to the chase.” That’s all he care about. That was the money maker.

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    1. That is a very bad idea. I remember being caught in the rain in a convertible. I found that by increasing speed the rain would blow over the passenger compartment. Unfortunately, the optimum keep dry speed was 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. You can imagine being wet and getting a ticket in the end.

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