Car Insurance And The Weather

By Author: Danny Aaron
Total Articles: 67
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After many years of driving a motor vehicle, it is easy to start believing that you are an experienced driver. The longer you drive more, and the more experience you gain, the more confident you become on the road. Unfortunately overconfidence breeds negligence at times, and drivers who think that they are invincible on the road can stop being as vigilant and as cautious as they may have been before. If you think you can drive wonderfully, then you will not drive with the same levels of care as someone who is new on the roads. It is undeniable that practice is a good thing, and that more experienced drivers have a better chance of handling problems on the road, but it is always better to err on the side of caution. If you have a motor vehicle accident, you risk injuring yourself, your family or someone else, and also costing yourself a lot of money. You could lose your vehicle completely, or have to wait ages for your vehicle to be repaired. Having to claim from insurance will ultimately lead to you having to pay a higher premium. The best thing you can do is to ensure you can prevent an accident under any conditions.

Driving ...
... under bad weather conditions can be one of the leading causes of car accidents. Heavy rains can cause greatly reduced visibility, which can easily lead to accidents. Another problem with even light rain is that the road surface becomes slippery and wet. When this happens it increases the amount of time it will take for your car to brake. Most inexperienced drivers do not realize this. They will try and brake the same way they would if it were not raining, whilst the lack of traction on the wet tar can cause the car to skid and take much longer to come to a complete stop. A lot of fender benders and rear enders are caused like this during rainy weather conditions. The best thing for you to do if you are caught in an extreme rainstorm is to try and pull over where you will not have to drive for a while the rain is coming down hard. When your visibility has improved, you can continue on your journey. If you have to have your bright car lights on to drive I a rainstorm, you should not be driving. Remember that even if you are driving slowly and cautiously, someone else may not be. Flash floods are also a risk in those conditions, and if your car is caught over an extremely deep puddle, you will lose all control. If it is raining reasonably, you will be able to drive. This is why you should always ensure that you have optimally functioning windscreen wipers. If your windscreen wipers are not working properly, you could find yourself stuck in a storm on a main road with a big problem!

Hailstorms can also cause havoc on your car insurance premium. Hail damage can cost thousands and thousands, and it is usually extremely difficult to predict when Mother Nature will throw those, sometimes golf ball sized, pieces of ice at your vehicle. If you are hit by a hailstorm whilst out driving, you must drive to the nearest shelter possible as quickly as possible. Do not be overly confident, even the smallest pieces of ice can cause grave damage to your vehicle if you are driving at a very slow speed. Ice on the roads can also cause you to have an accident, as the roads will be much more slippery than normal. Remember that this will also increase the amount of time it takes for you to brake!
Snow is probably one of the worst conditions to have to drive in, if only because it makes the road incredibly slippery. If you drive in a country where snow affects the areas you drive in at certain times of the year, it is highly recommended that you fit snow tires onto your vehicle. These tires are created specifically to prevent your vehicle from sliding in slippery black ice or snow conditions.

You cannot escape from the fact that you will have to drive under not so complimentary weather conditions at some stage or the other. Unfortunately this is a dangerous time to drive, but you will probably still have to. The best thing you can do is to ensure that your windshield wipers and tires are in peak condition as they will be your prime tools to arriving safely at your destination in bad weather conditions. The safest driving tip is to go as slowly as possible, because it is speed that can cause a major problem when you are driving in impaired conditions.
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