Living in Texas, Freeman Grapevine is well aware of how the winds can suddenly pick up in our less populated areas. Expect it to happen even more as the weather changes from cold to warm. This temperature shift can cause high winds that can literally sweep across the country. While you may look outside and see a bright and sunny day, that doesn’t mean that driving conditions can be severe. A common problem of driving during high winds is that most drivers don’t take the same precautions they would during rain, snow, or fog because you cannot see the windy conditions.
I’m sure you have felt it in your car before. You are driving at speed and suddenly you feel your vehicle being pushed into another lane from a strong wind gust. During sever high winds, it may seem as though you are moving your steering wheel from one side to the other as though driving in a mini slalom course. So what should you do when driving in high winds?
Wind can create difficulties for drivers of all vehicles. High winds are especially challenging for trucks, RVs and trailers, but they also affect cars and, not surprisingly, SUVs as well. When you experience high winds:
- Reduce your speed
- Be careful when driving close to trucks, buses and other large vehicles
- Pay attention to travel warnings and bans; some states restrict the use of certain vehicles when winds are high
- Take great care making steering corrections when going from protected to open areas.
Please keep these tips in mind when driving during windy conditions. Just because you can’t see it, winds can still wreak havoc on your car. Have you ever had any problems with driving during high winds? The picture above is pretty telling in regards to how furious straight line winds can become.
Feel free to share your driving stories, or any scary encounter you may have had with unexpected wind or weather in our comments section. Or, just stop by Freeman Grapevine and tell us about it!
