It grinds my gears when people don't know how to drive in the rain

Heavy rain on the M6 near Preston
-Credit: (Image: LancsLive)


Out of all four seasons Autumn is by far my favourite.

But despite the fresh mornings, changing colours in the countryside and cosying up in front of the fire Autumn also means lots of rain. And when it comes to driving on the motorway heavy rainfall highlights those drivers who really should know better.

In the last seven days alone I've witnessed the aftermath of two major crashes on the M6 which were undoubtedly caused by the rain - or, should I say, people who don't know how to drive in the rain.

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The worst thing about rain, on the motorway, isn't necessarily that stopping distances are massively increased, or that visibility is poor, but that it creates the risk of aquaplaning.

For those who don't know what it is, and it would appear plenty don't, aquaplaning occurs when a layer of water builds up between a vehicle's tyres and the road surface. This causes the vehicle to lose traction, making it unresponsive to steering, braking, or accelerating.

When they feel their car succumb to this phenomenon, some motorists make the mistake of hitting the brakes. And this is often why vehicles end up swerving out of control and spinning.

Tyre manufacturer Michelin offers the following advice: "It is essential not to react abruptly, for example by suddenly changing lanes.

"Do not turn the steering wheel - keep it as straight as possible, let the vehicle cross the puddle and slowly decelerate until your car regains traction."

The other key pointer is to switch off cruise control to allow you to react appropriately. And maybe if more motorists heeded this advice, and learned how to drive in heavy rain, there would be fewer crashes on the motorways and the knock-on effects they cause to other vehicles.

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