Why do people drive erractically when it's wet?

Richard53

I commute in the dark both ways at the moment (unlit major road for most of it) and I can agree that other people's headlights are a problem. Many, many are poorly adjusted and it seems that more and more have one light out. I put this down to two things: 1) bulbs are far harder to replace than they used to be, and 2) the more cars do for us, and the more everything is 'sealed unit, no user-serviceable parts inside', the less we feel we can or should fix trhings ourselves. I spoke to a young girl I work with last week, and told her one of her headlights was out. "Can't be bothered," she said, "I'll get it fixed when I have the MoT done." And when is the MoT? April.

As the roads I drive are dark, I find that if someone doesn't dip his lights until the last possible minute, it is often because one of the dipped lights isn't working and they need main beam to see where they are going. You can kind of understand this (as a get-you-home measure) but I suspect there is no sense of urgency to do anything about it for most people.

Strider590

Richard53 wrote: »

As the roads I drive are dark, I find that if someone doesn't dip his lights until the last possible minute, it is often because one of the dipped lights isn't working and they need main beam to see where they are going. You can kind of understand this (as a get-you-home measure) but I suspect there is no sense of urgency to do anything about it for most people.

I don't really use my main beam, my dipped are so poor (well known issue with Vectra's) that if I use main beam and then turn them off, it's like driving blind.

When people come the other way I flash the main beam before they see me, this way 90% of them turn theirs off before they get around the corner.

Crabman

I find that people sometimes drive inappropriately in wet conditions. I'm talking mostly about motorway drivers who continue to do crazy speeds in torrential rain. No doubt some of them are among the 30,000 or so who are seriously injured or killed on the UK's roads each year.

One reason to be careful with speed in less than perfect conditions is the state of the roads. You have to take account of potholes and be able to react to safely avoid them, especially when they may look like innocent looking puddles in the road.

attila_

Crabman wrote: »

I find that people sometimes drive inappropriately in wet conditions. I'm talking mostly about motorway drivers who continue to do crazy speeds in torrential rain. No doubt some of them are among the 30,000 or so who are seriously injured or killed on the UK's roads each year.

One reason to be careful with speed in less than perfect conditions is the state of the roads. You have to take account of potholes and be able to react to safely avoid them, especially when they may look like innocent looking puddles in the road.

Yet they are still held up by over cautios drivers spaced out in all three lanes when it rains; this does make me chuckle when I see it. Somehow, when it rains it seem perfectly ok to choose which ever lane you want and do 55/60.

I particularly love drivers who switch lanes so not to follow drivers spray in front, leaving them sitting on the middle or outer lane like twonks.

Cornucopia

attila_ wrote: »

Somehow, when it rains it seem perfectly ok to choose which ever lane you want and do 55/60.

It is - as long as you are using the outer lanes for overtaking. Or if overall congestion makes it the best use of the road space.

Crabman

attila_ wrote: »

Yet they are still held up by over cautios drivers spaced out in all three lanes when it rains; this does make me chuckle when I see it. Somehow, when it rains it seem perfectly ok to choose which ever lane you want and do 55/60.

I particularly love drivers who switch lanes so not to follow drivers spray in front, leaving them sitting on the middle or outer lane like twonks.

Not everyone feels confident on the motorways in poor conditions. I'd prefer that drivers in those conditions are over cautious than over confident. Usually they are in lane 1 maintaining HGV speeds. Can't say I've seen more instances of lane 2/3 hogging in wet conditions.

When it rains, sensible drivers will adjust their speed to suit the conditions. This is logical as stopping distances increase. Not everyone realises this until after they've had a collision. It doesn't dawn on some people even after they've demolished their NCD...

What concerns me is the lane 3 club who think that in torrential rain they can safely maintain speeds of >70mph whilst only keeping one car length from the vehicle in front. In my view that is the sort of erratic driving that the OP seems to be talking about.

sheldonb14

Yep a few on my commute turn into morons, but my pet hate in the rain is rear fog lights on, especially if I'm on the bike.