WE often hear the expression "drive to the conditions". Usually, little is said about what should be different when you do this or how you decide what to do.
What are "conditions"? Anything that compromises your ability to see and avoid danger is a "condition". The list is long. Heavy traffic, tight traffic, busy roadsides, entering and departing traffic, varying traffic speeds, limited visibility like rain or fog, a slippery surface, a rough surface, a dirty windscreen, worn tyres, an old car, sun in your face, high wind, roadworks - there are more, and they all vary during your drive.
We have had a wet year. Most wet days seem to involve a crash or two. It's likely that mistakes in wet conditions played a role. How do you "drive to" wet conditions? It's not enough to simply slow down a bit and do everything else the same. In wet conditions, your grip safety margin is smaller. The aim in wet conditions is to not place high demands on the available grip - that's when you discover, to your surprise, that the road is slippery.
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What are "extra demands"? Braking, turning or accelerating. Doing any of these suddenly or strongly is likely to require more grip than is available. Turning and braking simultaneously is very likely to exceed available grip. Turning while accelerating is also very likely to result in control problems, especially if your car is older and without electronic traction aids. Allowing more time to do normal things like stopping at lights will require less demand for grip. Accelerating less quickly will do the same. Turning at a slower speed than usual will reduce the cornering force and, therefore, the demand for grip on a wet road.
Quickly diving into a gap in the traffic from a side road is therefore not clever when it's wet. Traction control, stability control and ABS braking are only ever as good as the available grip. They work less effectively in wet conditions. This all leads to a lower speed being a good idea. Another good idea is smoothness. All this is very manageable if the driver is seeing things in time - if there's good visibility. In heavy rain, at night or in close conditions, visibility is compromised. This will greatly limit your ability to be smooth. Another reason to be slower, therefore, is the extent of your visibility, that is, how wide and long the scene is that you can see both ahead and behind. It needs to be enough to prevent the need for emergency actions.
The above suggestions are much more applicable if your tyres have less than 50 per cent tread. Space and smoothness are your friends.
Bruce Harper
