Braking on Wet Roads

We love seeing you guys! We do.. We love to help you get your car back on the road as quickly and painlessly as possible. However, as much as we love seeing our loyal customers, it’s often because you’ve been in an accident. And this time of year it’s often due to inattention on our roads.

Distractions are all around us, in fact if you haven’t checked out our 7 deadly distractions click the link at the bottom of the page to find out the most common causes of minor accidents. With the recent stormy weather we’ve been having it’s never been more important to take a little extra care when on our roads.

In wet weather how fast you are travelling and, just as importantly, how closely you follow the car in front of you can make a big difference on how quickly you can come to a complete stop. Of course the faster you go, the longer the stopping distance. Now while this is common sense, what many people fail to realise is that your braking distance increases exponentially. Have a look at the table below and you’ll see how much a bit of rain really makes a difference.

Most roads we travel on around and through Adelaide are marked 50 km/h, meaning (according to the table below) we’d need to allow an extra one to two car lengths to stop before we ran into the car in front of us. For those of us that travel on country roads at 80 km/h we’d need twice that distance. And for those of us who travel up and down the freeway every day it would take us an extra 30 metres to come to a complete stop, quite scary really.

 

Total Stopping Distance on a Dry Road

Total Stopping Distance on a Wet Road

By allowing extra space between you and the car in front of you you’ll significantly reduce the likelihood of running into another car. This is especially important considering that in the vast majority of rear end accidents the rear car driver is the one at fault. This of course means they are also liable for the cost of repair.

As far as stationary objects and unexpected obstacles in the road, such as fallen branches, debris, or even stray pets, or pedestrians, unfortunately there is only one solution to avoid unnecessary accidents SLOWING DOWN.

Now, while slowing down is often frustrating, by dropping our speed by just 5 km/h on wet roads in a 50 zone, our braking distance is the same as travelling at 50 km/h on a dry road.

 

Your Friends,

The team at DPP

 

Check out the 7 deadliest driver distractions here

 

Woodside:

Woodside, Woodside North, Lobethal, Birdwood, Mount Torrens, Lenswood, Charleston, Cherryville, Oakbank, Balhannah, Harrogate, Brukunga, Bridgewater, Hahndorf, Mount Barker, Nairne, Littlehampton, Gumeracha, Cudlee Creek, Uraidla, Adelaide Hills, Mount Pleasant, Mannum, Kanmantoo, Wistow, Stirling, Aldgate, Crafers.

Contact us at Woodside today to discuss your crash repair needs.

Stepney:

Stepney, magill, norwood, St. Morris, College Park, Maylands, Kent town, Adelaide, Trinity Gardens, Kensington, Kensington Gardens, Kensington Park, Rostrevor, North Adelaide, Hackney, Evandale, Gilberton, Walkerville, Rose Park, Toorak Gardens, Leabrook, Rosslyn Park, Burnside, Wattle Park, Beulah Park, Payneham, Payneham South, Newton, Marden, Royston Park, Walkerville, Eastwood, Dulwich, Glenside, Tusmore, Heathpool, Vale Park, Parkside, Eastwood.

Contact us at Stepney today to discuss your crash repair needs.