The monsoons bring out the best shades of green as scenery when you drive outside of the city, but they also tend to bring out the worst possible situations on the roads inside the city. Potholes, oil spills, slippery turns, water logging, unexpected flooding, poor visibility, lanes choked up with breakdowns. The list is long. Thankfully, we have compiled a short one. A small list of ideal monsoon driving practices that may provide that extra cover and protection to keep you safe.

Drive Slowly and Calmly

On wet roads, your car responds to inputs a lot slower so, when you apply the brakes, it is advisable to give the car some more time to actually come to a stop. However, one should never slam on the brakes as that would increase chances of a skid. When changing gears as well, one needs to be gentle and smooth so that the car has enough time to respond. Most importantly though, you should always keep enough distance between your car and the vehicle in the front of you to allow your car to slow down and stop in time.

Tyre Check

Your tyres should be in excellent quality, especially during the monsoons. Wet roads are not good for rubber tyres, always check the tyre tread on all four tyres to see whether they will be able to manage on the slippery roads. If the tread on your tyres is lower than 1.6mm, it might be a good time to get new tyres. You can also push a one Rupee coin into the tread to see how far it goes. If it barely sinks in, you should get new tyres.

Wiper blades

What you want when driving in the monsoons is a neat, streak-free windshield when you turn on your wipers. Streaks can hamper your daytime vision and also cause distracting headlight refractions. So, make sure your wiper blades are wiping clean. Also, top-up on the wiper washer fluid to clean mud splashes and sprays from the cars passing by.

Always best to top up

Often times than not, you have a greater chance of getting stuck in a traffic jam during the monsoon season. Be prepared for long waits in your car, and so make sure you're tanked up before heading out. The last thing you need is finding that you're stranded because you're out of fuel. Also, keeping some water and snacks handy, lots of music, spare phone charger or power banks, a change of clothes, an umbrella and maybe even a towel is not a bad idea.

Ensure properly functioning brakes

Having properly working brakes is important in all driving conditions. In the monsoon it becomes particularly important as stopping distance of vehicles tend to increase in the wet so having your brakes in tip-top shape is a big plus. Also when driving during heavy rains or just after driving through large puddles, make sure you dry the brakes by lightly tapping them intermittently. Now a days, new car come with ABS as standards which make braking in wet conditions much easier, and keep you safer in the rains.

Stay Away from Large Vehicles

Overtaking on wet, slippery roads are a massive NO-NO but if you are on the highway and have to drive around busses or trucks, do it cautiously as they always have a wide spray zone and could blind your vision as you pass them. The bigger vehicles usually come out at night so it is best that you avoid driving at those times during the monsoon. Also, the increased light from these vehicles can get intensified through water particles and can impair your visibility while driving.

Watch out for oily roads

Oil and other fluids are constantly being deposited by cars, busses, trucks, motorbikes, and other vehicles on the road. While this is not a major problem when the roads remain dry, it is when the rains come down that these oil spots become quite dangerous. We have all seen the rainbow of colours floating on puddles before, haven't we? These spots are usually found around intersections and around corners of roads. After the first rains, these oily patches are the most dangerous as they haven't had the time to mix with the water and float to the top where tyres meet the road. If you are driving fast and happen to drive over a patch of this oily layer, the car is more likely to skid.

Keep the AC running

Fogged up windscreens and windows are a major problem when driving in the monsoons and can also be quite dangerous if you're driving on a highway. To keep your windows and windshield from fogging up, you should turn the air conditioning on. This keeps the glass clear and lets you see what's ahead of you at all times. Otherwise, you will have to constantly wipe the windscreen with a cloth manually and that could end up with you getting soaking wet. A good home remedy for defogging is to use a cut potato to clean the surface and allowing it to dry. This apparently reduces condensation and stops the glass from fogging up.

Do you have some more to add to the list? Share with us in the comments section!