All posts tagged weather driving

Be Prepared! How to Keep Your Car Safe During Severe Weather

by Carsurfer Admin on 2018/02/06 in On the Road with Comments Off on Be Prepared! How to Keep Your Car Safe During Severe Weather
severe weather driving

Severe weather can be incredibly damaging to vehicles. If you want to avoid insurance claims, you should do everything possible to keep your car safe when a storm is on the way. Here are some of the options that may be available to you:

Keep It in a Garage

The single best place to store your car during severe weather is in a secure building. For cars, this is usually a garage. However, other covered structures can suffice. A garage will not only protect your car from hail, a common weather-related source of vehicular damage, but they can also help protect your car from more severe storms, such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

Buy a Protective Cover

If you do not have a garage or other sturdy building in which to store your vehicle, get a protective cover. This can be put on before the storm. It can also simply be left on the car if the vehicle is not used often. If desperate, even items like blankets and old mattresses can lessen the damage, although they are not recommended and their usefulness is debatable. If you have antique or old cars you primarily keep outdoors, then keeping them covered at all times will lessen the likelihood of damage.

Move the Car Away From Hazards

If possible, you should always move the vehicle away from potential hazards if a storm is on the way. This can include trees, low areas that may flood, overhead wires and more. Overhead wires are particularly hazardous to you. They can cause severe injury or death if you attempt to access a car with fallen wires on or near it. For your car, trees are the most common cause of damage. Water damage from flooding can even total the vehicle.

Have Insurance

Having quality insurance is the final step to safeguarding your car. Sometimes, in spite of your best efforts, damage will happen anyway. If this happens, which is likely at some point over the course of the car’s lifetime, insurance can help pay for repairs. Make sure your insurance policy has comprehensive coverage to cover situations like these. Comprehensive coverage, unlike collision coverage, covers your car for damage unrelated to a collision with another driver.

With any luck, your preventative measures will pay off and your car won’t suffer any damage due to the weather. If your car does end up being damaged by hail or other inclement weather, though, don’t hesitate to seek out windshield repair services or auto body repair services that you may need.

Get a Grip: 4 Best Wet Weather Driving Tips

by Carsurfer Admin on 2013/11/08 in On the Road with Comments Off on Get a Grip: 4 Best Wet Weather Driving Tips

As weather turns colder and more gloomy one thing that shouldn’t get us down is an expense from a fender bender that could have been avoided. Driving in wet weather is something that everyone is subject to but often times we forget that we will need to drive more cautiously and intelligently; otherwise a motorist will find him or herself involved in an accident with unknown ramifications. Fortunately, with these four safe driving tips, you can arrive to their destination without incident.

Tires

All too often, a driver will neglect his or her tires in a bid to save time and money. At first, some people get away with this and do fine on bald or damaged tires. However, on a wet and unpredictable road, one will have problems navigating their car with old and worn out tires. To combat this and avoid serious problems in the rain, one should head to an online or brick and mortar store to pick up a new set. Of course, when looking to save the most money, one should buy cheap tires online as they will cut out the middleman and save you some money in the process.

Slow Down

A motorist in the rain must slow down and go at, or below, the speed limit. All too often, a driver will not heed this advice, and they will go over the limit and cause an accident when they cannot handle the conditions. One must remember that a car reacts differently on wet pavement, and a driver must understand this and slow down during treacherous conditions. Remember, in poor conditions, a driver must slow down and watch out for other people on the road.

Following Distance

 When on the road, other drivers will also react poorly to the rain and wet conditions. To avoid problems, a motorist should know this and avoid tailgating. This is especially true when driving during busy times as one false move by another motorist can cause problems for everyone on the road. Remember, never tailgate and especially during rainy times as other drivers are unpredictable and may stop or slow down for conditions. This step will help a person avoid most problems on the road as tailgating causes plenty of accidents.

Lights

In some states, a driver must have his or her lights on when using their windshield wipers and driving in the rain. Even if this is not the case, a motorist should opt to do this as other drivers will have an easy time seeing a car with lights on. Without a doubt, this is an important step as people will have difficulty in seeing other cars in downpours.

Remember that just because it’s raining outside doesn’t mean that you have to be cooped up at home! So don’t hesitate to take that trip to the store or anyhting just because its wet outside. With these four simple tips, a motorist can, with ease, avoid accidents and arrive home safely and on time.