Tag Archives: safe driving

Wet Weather Brings slippery Roads to North Texas

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slipper roads, skidding car, grapevine cars, gmc fort worth, dealerships dfw, buick dealer, GMC dealer, used cars dfw, used cars fort worthSpring is almost here and that means that the weather will begin to change.  Some of the change is pleasant and welcome like buying a new Buick, or GMC.  The trees start to get their leaves back, the temperatures are rising which makes being outside enjoyable again, and the cool breeze can allow you to open your home windows and turn off the heater.  But some of the changes can make life a little more difficult, especially while driving, and that mostly comes from the rain.  While accidents can happen at any time, the chances start to increase with bad weather, and knowing how to be a better driver during and after the rain falls can help protect you and your car.

If you are driving on roads that have experienced rain for the first time in a couple of weeks, you have to take extra caution.  While it may not seem like too much water is on the road, the little bit that there is can loosen up all the oil, grease, and dirt that has dried on the asphalt.  This can turn any road into the world’s largest slip and slide, causing you to have trouble braking and turning over this slick surface.  If you are planning on driving on wet roads, be sure to give yourself more travel time so you don’t feel like you are running late which may cause you to drive less safely.

While driving, keep extra distance between your car and the car in front of you.  This will give you more time to brake and adjust to any other situation in front of you.  If you do need to brake, do so earlier and with less force than you normally would.  If you slam on your brakes, your tires may lose traction on the wet and slippery road and it may cause you to lose control of your vehicle. If you are on a highway or multi-laned road, drive in the middle lane or the lane farthest from the curb.  Water can accumulate in places that you may not see causing you to hydroplane.

If you start to hydroplane, take your foot off the pedal and allow your tires to catch up with the speed you are going.  Don’t accelerate or brake, because this will cause your car to veer, and hold the wheel firmly to avoid causing your wheels to change directions.  Driving on wet roads means more caution is needed so be sure to act accordingly.  If you are looking for a new car for any kind of weather, then be sure to come into Freeman Grapevine.

Dangers Of Driving In the Rain With Your Cruise Control On

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driving with cruise control, cruise control danger, freeman grapevine, driving in the rain

I ran across this article on Facebook written by Gene Cobb a Driving Safety Instructor. I never really gave driving in the rain with your cruse control on too much thought. I do it all of the time…I’m not so sure I will now.

Excellent Driving Tip: Especially for the young drivers!

A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago. It was raining, though not excessively when her car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence! When she explained to the Police Officer what had happened, he told her something that every driver should know – NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON.. She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain…. But the Police Officer told her that if the cruise control is on, your car will begin to hydro-plane when the tires lose contact with the road, and your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the Officer that was exactly what had occurred. The Officer said this warning should be listed, on the driver’s seat sun-visor along with the airbag warning. NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE ROAD IS WET OR ICY We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed – but we don’t tell them to use the cruise control ONLY when the road is dry. The only person the accident victim found who knew this, (besides the Officer), was a man who’d had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries…

Now, this certainly made sense to me. However, I haven’t independently verified this, or have done much research outside of the article itself. That being said, I thought it was more important to relay this information to you with haste, because if it is accurate, it is certainly information that you need to know!

If you have more information, or feel that this warning is in accurate, please leave a comment below. The more we know about safe driving tactics, the better we will ALL be for it.