Friday, August 1, 2008

Rainy Driving Tests

The major driving test season is the summer, when driving students have their summer vacation. However, some do it while they are in school, so they may drive in the rain. Others, like British people, live in places where it rains all year. Taking a driving test while raining is not a pleasant experience, and driving students make terrible mistakes. Here is an article I wrote about the subject, especially for the rain drivers.

Rain Driving Mistakes During the Road Test

In many countries, when winter comes, rain soon follows. Some driving students have their road test on that day. They should have practiced for hours and know how to deal with rain. However, some students taking their driving test don't know how to handle rain driving and fail their test for it. Examiners have noticed that some rain driving mistakes repeat more often than others.

One common mistake is not using the windshield wipers. Every driver should be familiar with car controls and when to use them. Some driving students, especially during their driving test, forget about the wipers and don't turn them on when it rains. If the situation reaches a point in which there is no visibility through the window, the examiner may fail the student.

Another rain related error examinees make is not turning on their headlights. During rain it's very important to keep the car visible to other drivers. However, some students neglect that and just leave their headlights turned off. This causes a severe danger to the driver and cars around him, and usually leads to a test failure.

Speed is also an issue when driving in the rain. Rain makes the road wet, which causes it to lose traction with the tires. This reduces steering ability and makes braking distance much longer than normal. By going even at the speed limit the driver puts himself in a risk of losing control of the car. This may lead to what the examiners call a "dangerous maneuver", which is a critical error.

Turning during rain can be very dangerous. Many accidents have happened because of someone losing control during a turn. Some driving students come unprepared to their road test, which causes them to make wrong estimations about the proper turning speed on rain. In the best case, it can be marked as a minor error only. In the worst case, it can be deadly.

Rain driving is a subject of many hours of practice. Every driving student should get some driving practice during rain to understand how rain driving is different from ordinary driving. This can save lives of many people. Driving students who practice during the summer should drive very carefully on their first rain driving after they get their license.

There is a guide that shows you how to drive during rain and on wet roads - Pass your Driving Test.

Drive carefully!
Nadav

nadavs

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