Local motorists are being asked to give their normal driving
habits a break for a day or two as the first solid winter rains may
make driving a little more hazardous.
Local motorists are being asked to give their normal driving habits a break for a day or two as the first solid winter rains may make driving a little more hazardous.
Local law enforcement agencies are advising motorists to drive more cautiously for the next couple of days because navigating the first rains of the winter is often more difficult than normal.
“The first rains will often bring various materials to the surface of the road,” California Highway Patrol Officer Terry Mayes said.
Substances like oil and diesel fuel that have soaked into the asphalt during the dry summer months will be brought to the surface of the road by rainwater seeping into tiny cracks and fissures in the road’s outer layers.
A mixture of oil and diesel fuel and water can make a road’s surface slick and more difficult to navigate, Mayes said.
“You have to plan ahead when driving for greater stopping distance in the rain,” Mayes said. “You need to drive with greater awareness.”
Even simple driving maneuvers such as merging into traffic from a stop sign or traffic light can become more difficult than normal.
“It will take you longer to pull out because your tires might spin in place at first, especially for small pickup trucks which are lighter in the back,” Mayes said.
Motorists will have to get used to driving in wet conditions at least through the weekend, according to forecasters with the National Weather Service.
Today’s rain was the first wave in a series of light and heavy showers that brought between one-quarter and one-half an inch of rain to the region from San Francisco to Monterey.
“We’ll have heavier rains through Friday night and into Saturday morning with clearing later that afternoon and Sunday,” NWS forecaster Diana Henderson said this morning.
Henderson said the rains that should stretch into the weekend are part of a normal winter weather pattern which includes intermittent days of rain followed by one or two days of sunshine.
Henderson said these first few days of rain do not pose serious threat to property owners.
“The soil is dry enough that it should soak all of this rain right up,” she said.
While residents are getting used to the winter weather, they need to take greater precautions on the road, Mayes said.
Some of those safety precautions include:
– Driving with headlights on.
– Leaving extra distance between your car and the motorist ahead of you.
– Apply breaks slowly because they may pull.
– Stay alert for collected water in the road to prevent hydroplaning.
– Leave for your destination a little earlier than normal so that you are not rushing.
