The rainy season has started, which means drivers need to be extra careful on the road because of challenging conditions like flooding, slippery roads, and reduced driver visibility.
Leading automotive manufacturers like Ford equip their cars with safety features that are useful when driving amid a heavy downpour. Here are four tips for drivers to ensure safety on the road during this time of the year:
1. Check your wipers: Having a clear vision of the road during a storm is essential. It allows you to respond quickly and maneuver the vehicle in the right direction at ease when needed. Always check your wipers and remove any debris that could potentially scratch your windshield before you leave. Check the condition of the wiper blades as well and if these need replacing to ensure your wipers are in top shape to clear rainwater.
Select variants of the Next-Generation Ford Ranger and Ford Everest are equipped with Rain Sensing Wipers that automatically turn on as soon as it drizzles on the road, making it less complicated to turn on wipers during rainy weather.
2. Always maintain visibility: When driving in the rain, make sure you can see the road and other drivers can see you, too. Turning on your headlights is crucial during heavy rainfall as it improves your visibility of the streets ahead and lets others easily see you as well. Amid a heavy downpour, owners of select Ford Ranger and Everest variants can take advantage of LED headlights with C-Clamp daytime running lights and LED fog lamps for enhanced visibility of the road.
Vehicle cameras can also help improve driver visibility, especially in blind spots. The Next-Gen Ranger Wildtrak 4×4, Next-Gen Raptor, and Next-Gen Everest Titanium+ 4×4 are fitted with a 360-degree camera that can help drivers see all angles of the vehicle, especially during challenging weather conditions.
3. Know your vehicle’s water-wading capability: Understanding your vehicle’s capability to drive through floods allows you to traverse it with ease. While both the Ford Ranger and Everest have 800mm water-wading capability and the Raptor has 850mm water-wading capability, it is still important to assess the road condition first during a storm. If the road is passable, it is advisable to drive at the center where the flood usually tends to be the shallowest and drive in low gear to minimize the water from entering the engine and avoiding damage to the electrical parts of the vehicle.
4. Drive slower: Vehicle traction and maneuverability are mostly reduced during rains and wet road conditions, hence the need to drive slowly. Always check your tires before driving on a wet and slippery road and ensure tread depth is good for whatever road conditions you may encounter.
You can also check your vehicle’s drive modes which can further help stability. The “Slippery” drive mode on select variants of the Ranger and Everest, for example, can be utilized as it allows the vehicles to optimize the engine and transmission to reduce wheel spin while the traction control delivers better grip.