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Are you ready for winter?

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Driver are being challenged over whether they are prepared for the challenges of driving during the winter.

Road safety and breakdown organisation GEM Motoring Assist is encouraging motorists to ensure they – and their vehicles – are ready for the potential challenges of driving in winter. This week, GEM chief executive Neil Worth answers questions specifically relating to driving safely in times of heavy rain and flood. 

Why can it be dangerous to drive when it’s raining?
Rain causes your tyres to lose traction. When the road gets wet, the rainwater mixes with the dirt on the road surface, making everything slippery and causing your tyres to lose grip on the road. Large areas of surface water can lead to aquaplaning, where a layer of water is trapped between your tyres and the road surface. This means it’s suddenly impossible for you to accelerate, brake or steer. 

Rain also makes it difficult for you to see when you’re driving along. Using dipped headlights when it’s raining will not only help you to see, it will greatly increase the chances of other drivers seeing you.

What’s the maximum depth of water I can drive through safely? 
Driving through any depth of water can be dangerous. Even just six inches – or 15cm of water – will reach the bottom of most passenger cars. Above this depth you can lose control or stall the engine because water can be sucked into the exhaust or washed into the air intake.

How can I reduce the risk of stalling?
If you are driving a manual car, press the clutch down slightly at the same time as pressing the accelerator. This will help the car move along slowly and should keep water out of the exhaust pipe. Stay in the same gear throughout the flood. In an automatic car, you can consider keeping your foot on the accelerator while using your lowest gear, but control the speed with your footbrake.

What if I stall in a flood?
Don’t attempt to restart the engine as you will risk severe damage. You’ll need to remove the injectors or plugs to get rid of any water – so the best thing to do is to get out of your vehicle and wade to higher ground, especially if the water is rising. Then, if you’re a GEM member, call us when it’s safe – if you’re not, then call your own breakdown recovery provider.

What should I do after driving through water? 
You’ll need to make sure your brakes are effective – dry them by applying them gently and taking it easy for a few miles after the flood.

Check out GEM’s video on driving, wet weather and floods. There is information on driving in flooded areas, tips on maximum depths of water and paying heed to warnings and road blocks. 

The above advice is also published in the latest edition of Good Motoring, GEM’s quarterly membership magazine. 

Further advice notices relating to driving in other frequently-encountered winter weather conditions will follow in coming weeks. 

Follow GEM on Twitter @MotoringAssist for the latest industry news

Motoring news, Motors

Perils of pavement parking

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Charity calls for councils to act

The UK’s largest independent road safety charity is calling for a targeted and local approach to combat pavement parking.

IAM Roadsmart says councils should be given powers to deal with problems caused by vehicles parking on the pavement, according to Britain’s largest independent road safety charity.

With the results of a Department for Transport consultation into the problem expected within three months, IAM Roadsmart says that a legislative change to allow local authorities to have civil parking enforcement powers to enforce against the ‘unnecessary obstruction of the pavement’ is the best solution.

The charity suggests the space allowed should be defined as less than the width of a standard wheel chair or child’s buggy.

Two other options considered were a complete blanket ban on pavement parking in England, such as already exists in London and is due in Scotland in 2021, or improvements to the existing Traffic Regulation Order through traffic signs or road markings.

IAM RoadSmart believes the more targeted local approach is beneficial for a number of reasons, including that a blanket ban could remove parked cars from many roads where they have a traffic calming effect, clearing parking cars can also lead to an increase in the speed of traffic.

It also argues that a local approach will get more public support as enforcement would be carried out in the most effective way.

Neil Greig, policy and research director at IAM RoadSmart, said: “A focused and local approach would allow selfish individuals and problem areas to be targeted without causing displacement problems in areas where there are no actual problems for pedestrians.”

Many neighbourhoods have developed informal pavement parking arrangements which still allow the free flow of traffic and emergency vehicles down narrow streets without causing any pavement obstruction.

Disrupting such long-standing arrangements could lead to local tensions and stress.  The charity is also concerned that hard pressed councils will lack the resources to effectively implement a blanket ban.

Furthermore, a blanket ban could cause the massive displacement of traffic which would blight the surrounding roads as residents circulate around looking for new parking opportunities.

Mr Greig added: “Local councils should be encouraged to use their existing powers and these new ones to sign, define, review and enforce local bans as required.

“We have no problem with local solutions for local problems, but a blanket ban of pavement parking is a ‘hammer to crack a nut’.