The pitter-patter of raindrops on your windshield, the cool breeze filling your hair for sure makes driving in the monsoon season a breeze and a well waited affair. However, if the rain roads are angry and the track is unforgiving, little mistakes done on a flooded terrain can extend much damage to you and to your car.
Therefore, here are 5 tips on how to drive safe during the monsoon season.
• Speed
During monsoons, the friction between the tires of your car and the road is comparatively very less. Hence, braking or bringing your car to a complete stand still from a high speed is a challenge and a situation you should prevent. Drive at a low or moderate speed and use light breaking periodically. Don’t indulge in instant braking, you can lose control over your car and it would result in the vehicle skidding or aquaplaning.
• Defogging
Not many people are aware of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning) function present in their car. You can improve your visibility by defogging the windshield via rotating the switch-nobs of the AC. Direct the flow towards the dash and enable airflow on the windshield. By doing this, you can unsettle the fog over.
•Driving through a waterlog
Though it is always advisable to never enter a flooded road, but sometimes there is no alternative. In those scenarios, make sure that you never lift your right foot off the pedal. Let the engine rev slowly and keep the rpm above 1200. By doing this, the engine will generate requisite emissions through the exhaust and the power distributer will be in continuous function. Hence, it won’t allow water to enter cautious areas and halt the movement of your vehicle.
• After you’ve crossed a waterlog
The problem does not completely end with the water and after you have crossed the flooded road, a little follow-through is advised.
For a smoother hassle-free drive ahead, you should let the rpm rise for a while in order to allow the water to seep out from the outlets. Most important, avoid over-speeding after crossing a water log. This is so because, the break shoes of the car get wet after crossing a flooded road. Hence their feedback reduces for some time and they may not offer the required bite when applied, leading to the possibility of an accident.
• What to do after your vehicle gets stuck in a waterlog
In the case you are unable to crawl your car out of a waterlog, the next day you can get certain parts of your vehicle checked to ensure its smooth running.
Remove the air filters of your car and let them dry. Get the interiors of your car vacuumed or dry cleaned otherwise they will start to smell. Get your spark-plug checked and your power distributer cleaned. The injectors too would require a little attention and cleaning. Moreover, it is also advisable to get your clutch checked as clutch plates and pressure plates are bound to get slippery after excessive waterlogging.