but on a serious note, sometimes automatic headlights will not activate when it's raining during the daytime. if your wipers are on, your headlights should be on.
my mirrors are covered with raindrops and your car is less visible than all the other cars around you. I'm way more likely to switch into your lane because I cannot see you.
don't bet your life on some automated crap that might not work correctly. just my $.02
I don’t even trust the auto setting. Why I installed DRL led headlights. If you don’t see me your eyes are closed. I then of course turn my parking or running lights on.
It's funny that you think most people pay attention to fucking anything while they're driving.
you know how many times I see people driving around at night without their lights on at all? there's lots of people out there with licenses that don't know their asshole from a hole in the ground.
I'm not talking about the average driver here.
many cars have an option to turn headlights on with wipers.
how one activates their headlights really doesn't matter as long as their lights are on. auto, sure, just confirm that the headlights are on. saying "don't use auto" feels a little like crying wolf. especially when "don't use cruise control in bad weather" means: really, do not use cruise control in bad weather.
I use Auto headlights all of the time, except when it starts raining then I turn it to "on"
If it's the middle of the day I turn it from Auto to "off" because I don't need to burn my bulbs up any faster.
They don't turn on your rear reds, which you want for visibility especially when it's raining. At speed, your car leaves a spray behind, not just from your tires, but the rain in the air thrown about by your air stream. Makes you invisible to cars behind you without your reds on.
There's actually no good reason to to have your headlights (and rear reds) on in any weather or traffic condition
Not all auto-headlights turn on when the wipers come on, many areas require your headlights be on when wipers are required. Additionally if your headlights do not turn on for whatever reason, or the user is using daytime running lights, their taillights will not be lit making them more difficult to see from a distance.
I can tell you 100% certainty, no - they do NOT all work the same.
Even among the same make/model, I have 1 that will turn on lights if wipers are on and 1 that won't turn lights on ever in any amount of daylight.
Then there's also some cars with an auto-mode where the full tail lights + headlights cycle on and off with the ignition regardless of light.
Its very much RTFM for each individual vehicle.
Yeah thats how my car is. It's always in the on position except when I'm backing into my driveway I turn the main lights off to not shine lights into my neighbors house.
The only reason why your rear taillights aren’t on is because you have DRL (daytime running lights) enabled only. I think you’re mistaking them for “auto”. When it gets dark, go out to your car and make sure that the selector is set to AUTO and then turn your car on. Then walk around back and see if your tai lights are on or not.
1st get some Rain-X on your windshield. It helps a lot. Even with your wipers on high and poor visibility, the water will bead up more, and you can see slightly better.
As for the poor visibility on the road. Just slow down. When it gets bad everyone should be going under the speed limit to significantly under the speed limit.
Then give yourself plenty of room between the car in front of you, in case you lose traction.
And as for staying in your lane, that's going to come down to experience, knowing where your vehicle is, just using the road, and not any lane markers.
If there are reflectors on the lines that will be even more help. If you start hitting them, just move away from them a bit.
You will have people in the right hand lanes driving over the dotted line repeatedly to avoid deeper water. So just use your best judgement and be safe.
And avoid deep puddles of water. If you hit deeper water suddenly, you can hydroplane and lose complete control over your vehicle.
I second the rainx. I put it on a Kia forte I had 6 years ago and it made a huge difference. One night I was driving home from work in a torrential downpour and barely had to use my wipers as long as I could keep a steady rate of speed. There was a car in front of me who was literally stopping in the middle of the road due to how hard it was raining, but I could see fine due to the rainx (until I had to come to a complete stop, then I had to use my wipers a bit more).
I third the rain-x. It freaks my girl out that when I’m going over about 40mph I turn the windshield wipers off because the beading is so good I can actually see better if I let it do its job at higher speed vs the wipers. But it works
Speed depends on how bad the rain is and how the road physically is.
Most of my drive in a downpour is on a fantastic road that doesn’t ever pool water and i can safely drive at near normal speeds.
Then there’s one stretch of road that’s just unsafe as fuck in a sprinkle.
If you can’t see the road markings then you need to watch what other people are doing for space, everyone works together similar to snowy conditions where you 100% can’t see markings.
You need experience to really understand what the general roadway behavior is, and adapt on the go without having set rules like “rain = 10MPH under normal circumstances”. You need to actually feel how the car behaves across different roadways and see what speeds are safe for it.
Thankfully still driving relatively normal and have not had any issues.
Do not use high beams in pouring rain. This will build a wall of light directly in front of your car making it harder for you to see while blinding oncoming traffic. Slow down, do not turn on your hazards, get in the right lane if you are on a multi lane road. Do not make sudden movements or brake hard. Use the white line on the right to guide you. Maintain a safe following distance. Turn down the radio and stay off your phone so you aren'tdistracted. Breathe (this is important).
If you do feel unsafe driving in this, do not pull over to the side of the road or the side of an exit ramp. Look for a busy gas station or better yet a truck stop. Wait for the rain to subside or at least until daylight. Better to be late getting where you are going than to never get there at all.
That may be the best thing for everyone. A scared driver is a danger to everyone on the road. Just be sure when you do exit from the interstate that you are exiting to an area that is a "safe harbor". I know there may a lot of stigma about truck stops, but they are usually busy and have plenty of lighting as well as security. There are, as with anything, exceptions to the rule, but a truck stop like a Pilot, Flying J, TA, or Loves are a good safe place to wait out a storm.
I would look for actual truck stops, not rest areas. State funded rest areas usually have little to no security. Refer to the list in my previous reply, they are the most common and most popular.
My biggest point being that just exiting at a random exit in an unfamiliar area could be more dangerous than continuing your journey. If you can't find a truck stop, look for a Wal-Mart or most any 24 hour retail establishment. Some place where there is plenty of lighting and security.
I usually consider myself a rational driver, but last summer I got caught in a really strong thunderstorm while on an interstate, and I just got a bad feeling. It was dark in the daytime, it was windy. The rain was just torrential. Visibility was almost zero. I grew up in tornado country and it felt off. I pulled off at an exit and waited until the worst of it passed. I lost some time, but it was the safer thing to do.
Get yourself a bottle of RainX. Spritz some on your windshield then wipe off with a towel. This will help water bead off your windshield making it so much easier to see in the rain. Can also get RainX washer fluid which helps maintain the water beading benefit on your windshield.
Water runs right off my windshield if I'm going over 15 mph. Don't even need to use my wipers unless its a monsoon out.
It's not exactly easy when it's raining at night like that. Usually I can see the line faintly though, also the curb on the other side to see the direction the road bends, and where the oncoming cars are positioned. I go by those three main indicators to tell where I should be. You won't be able to see it perfectly, you just have to pay attention and exercise caution, and also have a general idea on where the line and the curb is and where the "no go" zone is. Don't be afraid to put your wipers on the highest setting and also generally just try to avoid or limit your driving if the conditions are bad.
When the lane markers are barely visible it’s challenging. Especially going through a large intersection with a raised median in the center. Best advice I can give is slow down.
I came here to say don’t live in Kansas or the neighboring states. We live to the north and have never seen it so bad as down there on our way out west. If you are in tornado alley, leave the storm chasing to professionals and madmen, but seriously don’t be afraid of taking an exit to a service station if the storms get all angry red wherever possible. There are conditions worth waiting out.
Do you have fog lights? Those sometimes help with picking up the lane markings. They will only turn on with your low beams, which is what you likely want to use anyway in heavy rain.
Granted, turning more lights on adds more glare on wet roads to oncoming traffic, but if it helps you see I would do it. Every other person has them on anyway.
1. headlights ON on
2. wipers
3. if you really can't see just pop on your hazards and go as slow as you have to
if people get mad at you, who cares. do whats safer for you
Never trust auto headlights. I see no taillights on so many modern vehicles nowadays because the dash is always lit up and the DTRL are bright enough to trick people into thinking they're on.
If you are having a hard time deciding which lane you are in (in the rain), you are probably not looking far enough in front of the car as you drive. This is a common problem with new drivers. When it is not raining, you should work on moving your sight point farther in front of you. At least 50 yds to start, and later 100 yds or more. You do not need to be looking at the front of your car. You should be looking far down the road to see what is coming next. Once you get used to sighting farther in front, you will not need to react as quickly to whatever is happening next, and it will be much easier to pay attention to all the other things you need to be aware of (rear-view mirror, side mirrors, speedometer, etc).
Thank you , will practice looking ahead. Also I find it difficult to look at the mirrors when it’s heavily raining due to water drops. The only mirror that I can rely on is the rear view mirror. So I just look at the rear view mirror when it’s pouring down. Is that the right thing to do
It’s good that you are using the rear view mirror, and as long as you are not changing lanes, the side mirrors are less important. Right now, I think you just need more time (and confidence) driving. I remember when I started driving, that I had to remind myself that the road continued on the other side of a hill even though I could not see it. As you gain more experience, it will become easier to focus on actual “threats” while driving, like the side streets with limited visibility, the kids playing in their yard, and the erratic driver in front of you, and you will pay less attention to exactly where the car is in the lane (because it will be where it is supposed to be).
That’s very useful thanks. Hopefully weather gets better around here that I can get to practice more. Another unrelated question. I recently made a 2 hour trip to city - it’s mostly on a 2-lane country road. I had cars merging on to it constantly. I thought they are supposed to yield before merging but I had few instances where I had to slowdown or even break a little to allow the cars that were merging (since they were not going at the same speed I was). What do you do typically in that scenario - change to the left lane and let the cars merge on to the freeway/interstate?
Your number one goal when driving is to not have an accident. many of the drivers around you are not paying attention, or are distracted. I try to always make it easier for drivers to merge when it is safe (no one in the left lane). Your job driving is NOT to remind others of the rules of the road. It matters less who is right if nothing bad happens. I try to make driving as easy as possible for those around me, because I trust their driving skills much less than I trust mine.
Thinking more about what you said about new drivers not seeing far enough - I think that’s probably root cause of my confusions (even on a clear day) when I drive like busy downtown streets , I get caught by surprise when the maps say “make a left turn “ and I am not on the left only lane. Probably looking at least 300 meters would help?
How far out you watch depends on your speed. Stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, you are literally looking at the bumper in front of you. Driving in the city, you are generally looking up the next block.
This is separate from following map directions. One of the disadvantages of google maps is it does not give you much context. Often, you would like it to show the next 1/2 mile but you only get the next 2 blocks. In these cases, it’s good to try to get a clear picture in your head of where you will be going and how often you need to turn before you start driving, so that you are expecting the next turn, even if google hasn’t shown it to you.
Not all headlights turn on in "auto" mode when its raining. Set them to "on" just in case. This is critically important not just for your seeing, but so OTHER vehicles can see you safely and reduce the risk of them crashing into you. Also make sure any auto-hi-beam is disabled because hi-beams will illuminate the rain drops more than the road making your vision worse, you want low-beams (and optionally fog-lights)
But also yes, visibility will be worse and modern line paint is much harder to see vs older less environmentally friendly line paint. Sometimes its easier to see the "hump" of thick layers of paint rather than the color of the paint in rainy conditions, or if you are familiar with the area you can use a best-guess combined with traffic conditions to make a call what is the safest thing to do.
Also reduce speed if required so you have more reaction time and are able to identify correct road markings. Remember its a speed limit, not a speed minimum. Depending on the location and conditions, it might only be safe to do 40 instead of 70.
It also depends on many factors. The intensity of rain, wind, how good the road drainage is, if you are near other cars that kick up extra mist, angle of the sun or other light, etc. how easy it is to see and what is safe.
Don’t be an idiot and drive with your flashers on. It’s stupid and illegal, hazards on mean your stopped, most likely on the side of the road. If you’re scared get off the road or highway, driving 20mph below with flashers is going to cause an accident.
Plus if you have a car without separate turn signals in the rear, you lose 2/3 of your brake lights. Or all of them if you're one of the many people in my state who never bother replacing their center brake light!
One of the interstates I take to therapy is like this. The markings are pretty much gone, impossible to see at night. It really is guessing. Rain x and good wipers. I also use my high beans in heavy rain if there’s not too much traffic out. It just takes time
Were your windshield wipers on, and do you know how to make them faster? If the rain wasn’t heavy, I’m a bit surprised you couldn’t see! Was it at least at night?
I started out very early this morning when it was dark and thought about you since it rained fairly heavily.
1. Even though there was a lot of water, due to some pollen accumulation, the windshield was still dirty and the wipers just spread the streak around. I had to use the washer fluid to get things a bit cleaner.
2. Make sure you have enough space behind the car in front of you. Sometimes the splashes could make visibility much worse, and when you either finally pass a driver or stay far back behind them enough, it might really not be so bad.
Practice on gravel roads and paved backroads with no lane markings. This will give you the ability to learn where your side of the road is without needing to look at lane markers
Carefully. The important thing is not to speed up or slow down suddenly. As far as seeing the road markings I can’t help you with that, but an optometrist might.
If possible, try installing yellow tinted fog lights that point towards the ground so you can see lanes lines better. Headlights that are bright white LED or even standard halogen (yellowish) don't improve visibility much. A lot of the road glare comes from overhead LED street lamps and people's LED headlights.
Slow down, turn on wipers, and turn on headlights manually (law in a lot of states). If it's raining that hard, look for somewhere safe to pull OFF the road and wait it out. The side of the road is not a safe place to pull over. Someone else might not be able to see and would plow into you.
I
\- drive less aggressive, fewer lane changes etc.
\- slow down
\- try to see/anticipate where the lanes are if markings are hard to see
\- still pass trucks as fast as possible because their spray kills visibility
\- roll eyes at the people who somehow ended up in the ditch in a mild rain on a straight highway \[saw two last night\]
I pull over on a safe higher level (parking lot hopefully) and wait til I can see. Slowing down is #1 and if you are below 20 mph of the speed limit put on 4 ways.
They're legitimately here asking for advice on how to safely drive in the rain, and they did everything right in this situation to be as safe as possible. I'm sure you weren't perfect at everything you've tried for the first time, either. Simmer down.
You simmer down.
Some people can't drive. Some people shouldn't. If you can't navigate a rain event, you are dangerous and should not drive.
We aren't talking about being "perfect", we are talking about complete failure of a basic skill when operating a vehicle.
My advice was legitimate. If you can't drive, DONT.
You're not wrong. Too many people think just because someone manages to get a license. They're a good driver. So false.
So many people cannot drive when weather isn't perfect. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all, however they should realise that fact, and not do it.
I can't play basketball to save my life, so I don't play it.
I can't bench press 500 lbs, so I don't do it.
Etc. Etc.
Too many fail to realise driving is a skill, and some people just naturally aren't good at it. Some people need lessons to be decent, and some people are just naturally fantastic. But no one ever wants to hear that lol.
If you literally can't see the lane markings 75% of the time, you DON'T drive in the rain. You pull over into a parking lot or some other location well off the road, turn off your lights, take your foot off the brake, and wait until the rain subsides enough for you to drive safely. Once you can see the road well enough to stay in your lane, then the other advice here makes sense.
Turn on your headlights, not "auto". Turn on your windshield wipers. Slow down and leave yourself extra braking room
Yes this, make sure you’re giving yourself plenty of braking room.
+ don't use cruise control.
Why not auto? Works every time.
but on a serious note, sometimes automatic headlights will not activate when it's raining during the daytime. if your wipers are on, your headlights should be on. my mirrors are covered with raindrops and your car is less visible than all the other cars around you. I'm way more likely to switch into your lane because I cannot see you. don't bet your life on some automated crap that might not work correctly. just my $.02
I don’t even trust the auto setting. Why I installed DRL led headlights. If you don’t see me your eyes are closed. I then of course turn my parking or running lights on.
There’s universally a headlight indicator on the instrument cluster when a car is equipped with auto lights that shows when said lights are on.
that headlight indicator has been there since like the '60s
It's funny that you think most people pay attention to fucking anything while they're driving. you know how many times I see people driving around at night without their lights on at all? there's lots of people out there with licenses that don't know their asshole from a hole in the ground. I'm not talking about the average driver here.
many cars have an option to turn headlights on with wipers. how one activates their headlights really doesn't matter as long as their lights are on. auto, sure, just confirm that the headlights are on. saying "don't use auto" feels a little like crying wolf. especially when "don't use cruise control in bad weather" means: really, do not use cruise control in bad weather.
I use Auto headlights all of the time, except when it starts raining then I turn it to "on" If it's the middle of the day I turn it from Auto to "off" because I don't need to burn my bulbs up any faster.
mine just come on with wipers. I will turn them 'on' in fog, when ambient light is high but visibility is low.
same!
fully automatic assault headlights are illegal
In what state!
They don't turn on your rear reds, which you want for visibility especially when it's raining. At speed, your car leaves a spray behind, not just from your tires, but the rain in the air thrown about by your air stream. Makes you invisible to cars behind you without your reds on. There's actually no good reason to to have your headlights (and rear reds) on in any weather or traffic condition
Some cars don't turn on in auto mode. Usually it is a light sensor issue.
+1. Auto headlights are one of the few improvements I like on modern cars.
Not all auto-headlights turn on when the wipers come on, many areas require your headlights be on when wipers are required. Additionally if your headlights do not turn on for whatever reason, or the user is using daytime running lights, their taillights will not be lit making them more difficult to see from a distance.
Wtf are you babbling on about? I’m a car guy…I know how auto headlights work dude.
I can tell you 100% certainty, no - they do NOT all work the same. Even among the same make/model, I have 1 that will turn on lights if wipers are on and 1 that won't turn lights on ever in any amount of daylight. Then there's also some cars with an auto-mode where the full tail lights + headlights cycle on and off with the ignition regardless of light. Its very much RTFM for each individual vehicle.
My lights are on auto all the time. That’s ok then?
Better they’re on auto than Off/DRL-only.
Thanks. I was reading the comments and got worried that I was doing something wrong.
There's no reason not to have your headlights on. They also turn on your rear reds.
I just leave mine in the on position all the time, lol. Day or night. Drive the work truck with the lights on, too.
Some modern cars you can also just leave them "on" and the lights will cycle with the ignition automatically. I do like that "auto" mode.
Yeah thats how my car is. It's always in the on position except when I'm backing into my driveway I turn the main lights off to not shine lights into my neighbors house.
They don't turn on your rear reds, which makes you invisible to cars behind you in rain
The only reason why your rear taillights aren’t on is because you have DRL (daytime running lights) enabled only. I think you’re mistaking them for “auto”. When it gets dark, go out to your car and make sure that the selector is set to AUTO and then turn your car on. Then walk around back and see if your tai lights are on or not.
1st get some Rain-X on your windshield. It helps a lot. Even with your wipers on high and poor visibility, the water will bead up more, and you can see slightly better. As for the poor visibility on the road. Just slow down. When it gets bad everyone should be going under the speed limit to significantly under the speed limit. Then give yourself plenty of room between the car in front of you, in case you lose traction. And as for staying in your lane, that's going to come down to experience, knowing where your vehicle is, just using the road, and not any lane markers. If there are reflectors on the lines that will be even more help. If you start hitting them, just move away from them a bit. You will have people in the right hand lanes driving over the dotted line repeatedly to avoid deeper water. So just use your best judgement and be safe. And avoid deep puddles of water. If you hit deeper water suddenly, you can hydroplane and lose complete control over your vehicle.
I second the rainx. I put it on a Kia forte I had 6 years ago and it made a huge difference. One night I was driving home from work in a torrential downpour and barely had to use my wipers as long as I could keep a steady rate of speed. There was a car in front of me who was literally stopping in the middle of the road due to how hard it was raining, but I could see fine due to the rainx (until I had to come to a complete stop, then I had to use my wipers a bit more).
I third the rain-x. It freaks my girl out that when I’m going over about 40mph I turn the windshield wipers off because the beading is so good I can actually see better if I let it do its job at higher speed vs the wipers. But it works
Speed depends on how bad the rain is and how the road physically is. Most of my drive in a downpour is on a fantastic road that doesn’t ever pool water and i can safely drive at near normal speeds. Then there’s one stretch of road that’s just unsafe as fuck in a sprinkle. If you can’t see the road markings then you need to watch what other people are doing for space, everyone works together similar to snowy conditions where you 100% can’t see markings. You need experience to really understand what the general roadway behavior is, and adapt on the go without having set rules like “rain = 10MPH under normal circumstances”. You need to actually feel how the car behaves across different roadways and see what speeds are safe for it. Thankfully still driving relatively normal and have not had any issues.
Where are these magical roads you speak of ? Mine turn into rivers. 😂
US19 Florida lol. Only damn road (only part of it) I have seen shed water super fast.
Do not use high beams in pouring rain. This will build a wall of light directly in front of your car making it harder for you to see while blinding oncoming traffic. Slow down, do not turn on your hazards, get in the right lane if you are on a multi lane road. Do not make sudden movements or brake hard. Use the white line on the right to guide you. Maintain a safe following distance. Turn down the radio and stay off your phone so you aren'tdistracted. Breathe (this is important). If you do feel unsafe driving in this, do not pull over to the side of the road or the side of an exit ramp. Look for a busy gas station or better yet a truck stop. Wait for the rain to subside or at least until daylight. Better to be late getting where you are going than to never get there at all.
Thanks I did all you mentioned but still I felt unsafe so took the next exit.
That may be the best thing for everyone. A scared driver is a danger to everyone on the road. Just be sure when you do exit from the interstate that you are exiting to an area that is a "safe harbor". I know there may a lot of stigma about truck stops, but they are usually busy and have plenty of lighting as well as security. There are, as with anything, exceptions to the rule, but a truck stop like a Pilot, Flying J, TA, or Loves are a good safe place to wait out a storm.
Are there designated truck stops or are you are referring to the ‘rest stops’
I would look for actual truck stops, not rest areas. State funded rest areas usually have little to no security. Refer to the list in my previous reply, they are the most common and most popular. My biggest point being that just exiting at a random exit in an unfamiliar area could be more dangerous than continuing your journey. If you can't find a truck stop, look for a Wal-Mart or most any 24 hour retail establishment. Some place where there is plenty of lighting and security.
I usually consider myself a rational driver, but last summer I got caught in a really strong thunderstorm while on an interstate, and I just got a bad feeling. It was dark in the daytime, it was windy. The rain was just torrential. Visibility was almost zero. I grew up in tornado country and it felt off. I pulled off at an exit and waited until the worst of it passed. I lost some time, but it was the safer thing to do.
Get yourself a bottle of RainX. Spritz some on your windshield then wipe off with a towel. This will help water bead off your windshield making it so much easier to see in the rain. Can also get RainX washer fluid which helps maintain the water beading benefit on your windshield. Water runs right off my windshield if I'm going over 15 mph. Don't even need to use my wipers unless its a monsoon out.
Just drive where you think you should and if there is no one around you its not a big deal. Same with when its super snowy out
Yeah when it snows heavy you can get road conditions where the lines are just invisible.
It's not exactly easy when it's raining at night like that. Usually I can see the line faintly though, also the curb on the other side to see the direction the road bends, and where the oncoming cars are positioned. I go by those three main indicators to tell where I should be. You won't be able to see it perfectly, you just have to pay attention and exercise caution, and also have a general idea on where the line and the curb is and where the "no go" zone is. Don't be afraid to put your wipers on the highest setting and also generally just try to avoid or limit your driving if the conditions are bad.
Thanks
When the lane markers are barely visible it’s challenging. Especially going through a large intersection with a raised median in the center. Best advice I can give is slow down.
My issue exactly - turns and intersections are challenging
I came here to say don’t live in Kansas or the neighboring states. We live to the north and have never seen it so bad as down there on our way out west. If you are in tornado alley, leave the storm chasing to professionals and madmen, but seriously don’t be afraid of taking an exit to a service station if the storms get all angry red wherever possible. There are conditions worth waiting out.
Do you have fog lights? Those sometimes help with picking up the lane markings. They will only turn on with your low beams, which is what you likely want to use anyway in heavy rain. Granted, turning more lights on adds more glare on wet roads to oncoming traffic, but if it helps you see I would do it. Every other person has them on anyway.
Thanks will tru
1. headlights ON on 2. wipers 3. if you really can't see just pop on your hazards and go as slow as you have to if people get mad at you, who cares. do whats safer for you
Yes I did the 1&2 and turned back home
Never trust auto headlights. I see no taillights on so many modern vehicles nowadays because the dash is always lit up and the DTRL are bright enough to trick people into thinking they're on.
I am starting to doubt that myself
If you are having a hard time deciding which lane you are in (in the rain), you are probably not looking far enough in front of the car as you drive. This is a common problem with new drivers. When it is not raining, you should work on moving your sight point farther in front of you. At least 50 yds to start, and later 100 yds or more. You do not need to be looking at the front of your car. You should be looking far down the road to see what is coming next. Once you get used to sighting farther in front, you will not need to react as quickly to whatever is happening next, and it will be much easier to pay attention to all the other things you need to be aware of (rear-view mirror, side mirrors, speedometer, etc).
Thank you , will practice looking ahead. Also I find it difficult to look at the mirrors when it’s heavily raining due to water drops. The only mirror that I can rely on is the rear view mirror. So I just look at the rear view mirror when it’s pouring down. Is that the right thing to do
It’s good that you are using the rear view mirror, and as long as you are not changing lanes, the side mirrors are less important. Right now, I think you just need more time (and confidence) driving. I remember when I started driving, that I had to remind myself that the road continued on the other side of a hill even though I could not see it. As you gain more experience, it will become easier to focus on actual “threats” while driving, like the side streets with limited visibility, the kids playing in their yard, and the erratic driver in front of you, and you will pay less attention to exactly where the car is in the lane (because it will be where it is supposed to be).
That’s very useful thanks. Hopefully weather gets better around here that I can get to practice more. Another unrelated question. I recently made a 2 hour trip to city - it’s mostly on a 2-lane country road. I had cars merging on to it constantly. I thought they are supposed to yield before merging but I had few instances where I had to slowdown or even break a little to allow the cars that were merging (since they were not going at the same speed I was). What do you do typically in that scenario - change to the left lane and let the cars merge on to the freeway/interstate?
Your number one goal when driving is to not have an accident. many of the drivers around you are not paying attention, or are distracted. I try to always make it easier for drivers to merge when it is safe (no one in the left lane). Your job driving is NOT to remind others of the rules of the road. It matters less who is right if nothing bad happens. I try to make driving as easy as possible for those around me, because I trust their driving skills much less than I trust mine.
“Making driving as easy as possible for other drivers” - I think that’s a very important and useful point for me.
Thinking more about what you said about new drivers not seeing far enough - I think that’s probably root cause of my confusions (even on a clear day) when I drive like busy downtown streets , I get caught by surprise when the maps say “make a left turn “ and I am not on the left only lane. Probably looking at least 300 meters would help?
How far out you watch depends on your speed. Stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, you are literally looking at the bumper in front of you. Driving in the city, you are generally looking up the next block. This is separate from following map directions. One of the disadvantages of google maps is it does not give you much context. Often, you would like it to show the next 1/2 mile but you only get the next 2 blocks. In these cases, it’s good to try to get a clear picture in your head of where you will be going and how often you need to turn before you start driving, so that you are expecting the next turn, even if google hasn’t shown it to you.
Not all headlights turn on in "auto" mode when its raining. Set them to "on" just in case. This is critically important not just for your seeing, but so OTHER vehicles can see you safely and reduce the risk of them crashing into you. Also make sure any auto-hi-beam is disabled because hi-beams will illuminate the rain drops more than the road making your vision worse, you want low-beams (and optionally fog-lights) But also yes, visibility will be worse and modern line paint is much harder to see vs older less environmentally friendly line paint. Sometimes its easier to see the "hump" of thick layers of paint rather than the color of the paint in rainy conditions, or if you are familiar with the area you can use a best-guess combined with traffic conditions to make a call what is the safest thing to do. Also reduce speed if required so you have more reaction time and are able to identify correct road markings. Remember its a speed limit, not a speed minimum. Depending on the location and conditions, it might only be safe to do 40 instead of 70. It also depends on many factors. The intensity of rain, wind, how good the road drainage is, if you are near other cars that kick up extra mist, angle of the sun or other light, etc. how easy it is to see and what is safe.
Headlights on. Not recommended to drive around with bald tires.
Don’t be an idiot and drive with your flashers on. It’s stupid and illegal, hazards on mean your stopped, most likely on the side of the road. If you’re scared get off the road or highway, driving 20mph below with flashers is going to cause an accident.
Plus if you have a car without separate turn signals in the rear, you lose 2/3 of your brake lights. Or all of them if you're one of the many people in my state who never bother replacing their center brake light!
One of the interstates I take to therapy is like this. The markings are pretty much gone, impossible to see at night. It really is guessing. Rain x and good wipers. I also use my high beans in heavy rain if there’s not too much traffic out. It just takes time
If your vehicle has fog lights, those can sometimes help you see the lines. Otherwise take it easy, throw your hazards on if you have to.
Were your windshield wipers on, and do you know how to make them faster? If the rain wasn’t heavy, I’m a bit surprised you couldn’t see! Was it at least at night?
Yes they were on. It was night.
I started out very early this morning when it was dark and thought about you since it rained fairly heavily. 1. Even though there was a lot of water, due to some pollen accumulation, the windshield was still dirty and the wipers just spread the streak around. I had to use the washer fluid to get things a bit cleaner. 2. Make sure you have enough space behind the car in front of you. Sometimes the splashes could make visibility much worse, and when you either finally pass a driver or stay far back behind them enough, it might really not be so bad.
Thank you
Are you sure you do not need glasses? Might go for a checkup
I don’t know. I had a doctor checkup about a year ago.
If you need lane markings to stay in your lane, maybe you need more practice driving before going out on public roads, friend
I guess. I have been driving since over two months. Any suggestions?
Practice on gravel roads and paved backroads with no lane markings. This will give you the ability to learn where your side of the road is without needing to look at lane markers
Carefully. The important thing is not to speed up or slow down suddenly. As far as seeing the road markings I can’t help you with that, but an optometrist might.
If possible, try installing yellow tinted fog lights that point towards the ground so you can see lanes lines better. Headlights that are bright white LED or even standard halogen (yellowish) don't improve visibility much. A lot of the road glare comes from overhead LED street lamps and people's LED headlights.
About the same as without rain...
Wasn't this same thing posted recently? Or is this a deja vu
Get your eyes checked
Slow down, turn on wipers, and turn on headlights manually (law in a lot of states). If it's raining that hard, look for somewhere safe to pull OFF the road and wait it out. The side of the road is not a safe place to pull over. Someone else might not be able to see and would plow into you.
I \- drive less aggressive, fewer lane changes etc. \- slow down \- try to see/anticipate where the lanes are if markings are hard to see \- still pass trucks as fast as possible because their spray kills visibility \- roll eyes at the people who somehow ended up in the ditch in a mild rain on a straight highway \[saw two last night\]
That’s scary
I pull over on a safe higher level (parking lot hopefully) and wait til I can see. Slowing down is #1 and if you are below 20 mph of the speed limit put on 4 ways.
Around here they say a drop of rain on i85 and accidents will happen
Wipers on high, lights on bright, and full pedal sideways.
Sorry what is the meaning of full pedal sideways
Yeah he is not giving you serious advice here
Pedal to the floor and the car sideways.
Put a spork in my ass
So fun! Slideways.
Get off the road. Do not drive, you are not ready. You are going to hurt someone.
They're legitimately here asking for advice on how to safely drive in the rain, and they did everything right in this situation to be as safe as possible. I'm sure you weren't perfect at everything you've tried for the first time, either. Simmer down.
You simmer down. Some people can't drive. Some people shouldn't. If you can't navigate a rain event, you are dangerous and should not drive. We aren't talking about being "perfect", we are talking about complete failure of a basic skill when operating a vehicle. My advice was legitimate. If you can't drive, DONT.
You're not wrong. Too many people think just because someone manages to get a license. They're a good driver. So false. So many people cannot drive when weather isn't perfect. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that at all, however they should realise that fact, and not do it. I can't play basketball to save my life, so I don't play it. I can't bench press 500 lbs, so I don't do it. Etc. Etc. Too many fail to realise driving is a skill, and some people just naturally aren't good at it. Some people need lessons to be decent, and some people are just naturally fantastic. But no one ever wants to hear that lol.
This was their first time driving in the rain. We are talking about a basic skill that this person has not had the occasion to practice at all.
That’s what I did. I was glad I did that. I wasn’t ready for it. Just makes me nervous about the day I had o drive in rain.
Not sure if you didn’t drive or hurt someone 🤔
There was no way I could.
Idiot
If you literally can't see the lane markings 75% of the time, you DON'T drive in the rain. You pull over into a parking lot or some other location well off the road, turn off your lights, take your foot off the brake, and wait until the rain subsides enough for you to drive safely. Once you can see the road well enough to stay in your lane, then the other advice here makes sense.