To ask how the hell to drive in the dark and rain?

[hanketypankety]

So yesterday I got caught driving home in a huge rainstorm. It was dark and I was driving along a main road but in an area surrounded by fields and no street lights. I'm embarrassed to say that I panicked and was crying in the car because I genuinely could not see a thing. To make it worse, lots of cars were either riding up my arse or overtaking me very fast. I eventually came up to an estate and pulled over to quietly have a stern word with myself to pull it together. But I guess I was just a bit overwhelmed that the majority of the traffic continued to be able to drive at the speed limit of 60 quite happily. I honestly could not see the road markings and that road often floods so no idea if and when I would hit a huge puddle and either skid off or flood my car. Any tips? Please be kind as I was genuinely frightened

Are you sure your lights were on? I was out in it last night and couldn’t believe the number of cars with only DRLs on (so no headlights and no back lights).

Drive more slowly and ignore numpty drivers.
And campaign for the more modern headlights to be banned so we can go back to the older dazzle-less lights.

I'm a good and experienced driver. In an extreme downpour - think highest wiper setting and still no clear sight - I would tend to simply pull over and wait it out. Just way too dangerous, especially if other drivers are speeding and tailgating.

I sympathise OP - I also wear glasses and have an astigmatism - I hate driving at night because of it. Slow and steady is best, and pull in to let other cars past - it's much easier to see if someone isn't sitting up your bumper.

If it's really heavy rain, I just pull over and wait for it to pass. It rarely lasts longer than a few minutes and it's much safer than trying to drive in it IMO.

I feel exactly the same as hanketypankety. I went to the theatre on my own last night driving through a horrendous rain storm - absolutely lashing non stop rain and very high winds. The roads were dark and not all were inadequately lit. At one point I was driving on a high coast road with very steep drops to a river and the retaining wall is only a metre high in places. Cars were flashing me to get a move on, I was doing 30mph in 40 zone.

One frustrated driver swung out into oncoming traffic and only the skill of the oncoming driver prevented a head on crash.

My late husband was both a Driving Instructor then a Driving Examiner. {Try driving them about every day!). His advice was always to drive to the road conditions, speed limits are the maximum speed you should be driving to and lastly to ignore other drivers who try to force you to drive faster than you are comfortable or capable of doing so.

Easier said than done I know but it is intimidating especially when you are an older lady driving alone. (45 years driving no crashes).

in

Many LEDs are incredibly bright, dangerously so for other drivers who are dazzled. There are no laws to restrict them. This is getting worse with every passing year, as buyers want cars with the brightest possible headlights.

So it may be that these other drivers have brighter lights than yours. I have been a passenger in cars where I've noticed the visibility is much better than it is in my 20 year old banger.

It also may be that these other drivers are being stupid and they cannot see very well either, but they are not slowing down accordingly. Having learned to drive abroad, I remain amazed at how many British drivers DON'T slow down in response to bad conditions. It's a cultural thing.

It's perfectly ok to park up and wait for the rain to ease off. The glare and ghosting from non standardised running and headlights plus rain plus specs can be torture.

Do you have the anti glare coating on your glasses @hanketypankety ? They’ve made such a difference to me for night driving.

Similar to driving in snow. Leave lots of stopping space. Be prepared to slow down suddenly. Drive at a fairly constant speed when not a deep puddle so you maintain momentum and don't overly slow other traffic. Avoid high speed though as stopping distance greatly increased.
Have lights on, use full beam when appropriate, otherwise dipped beam.

Driving this morning was fun... dark and deep puddles occasionally needing single file to get past.

It's OK to pull over into a layby to wait for the rain to ease off.

I was going to comment this. Some of the lights now are ridiculous. They’ve actually given me a headache as they’re so bright and dazzling.

Lots of good advice here.
The institute for advanced motorists does driving lessons for qualified drivers who want to improve so might be worth contacting for a lesson focused on that.

Drive slowly, wear your glasses if you need them, put your lights on, put your windscreen washers on, and drive slowly.

Pull over if you feel unsafe - the rain is unlikely to be so heavy you cannot see for very long, DO NOT use the tail lights ahead to guide you for either speed or direction, you could end up following them into danger, if you really feel unsafe take some bad weather driving skills lessons with an Advanced driving instructor.

I once saw a F1 racing driver being interviewed state that the majority of the public have no idea how to drive in poor weather (rain, fog, snow) and do not drive safely. In his opinion, much could be done to improve safety by just driving slower. If it’s good enough for a F1 driver, it’s good enough for me.

I had the ‘joy’ of half an hour of country lane driving in torrential rain last night.
I know the lanes well, all the tight bends and the places where there’s likely to be water across the whole road. Visibility was very poor.
I assume the person behind me didn’t know the roads , (or did but didn’t care) driving dangerously close to me, and traffic coming towards me didn’t slow down to pass or anything.
I spotted what I thought was a cyclist in the middle of the road heading for me and it was someone on an electric scooter. 😱

I have before now pulled in and waited for the rain to pass but it’s no fun.

I have a set glasses just for driving they have a coating on them that massively reduces glare from lights.

Make sure your windscreen is immaculately clean inside and out. Make sure you have enough windscreen wash in the washer bottle, this takes the grease off the glass, but do it manually also. Buy a squeegee for the car. Buy new wipers anyway.
Run the heater on ‘windscreen’ and make sure the vents are adjusted open/closed to keep the side windows also clear.
Also clean your headlights.
I hate driving at night in the rain, the above measures are easy and help.

Oh OP I can relate, I had to drive in the storm earlier in the week, I was doing 35-40 on a 60 with no lights as we live rurally, the road is also full of pot holes and the puddles were extremely deep so I wasn’t going to risk anything by driving faster, I also felt completely blinded, at night the lights are so bright and the spread out across my vision so I find it very hard to see the road properly, even following someone else is difficult but definitely easier when other cars pass.
I’ve no advice to give, I’m s new driver but I just wanted to say I also find it extremely difficult!

And use the night mirror to stop glare from the idiots up your bum

TBH I drive in the dark/heavy rain as little as possible.

I use public transport whenever I can and book a taxi if I'm going to be very late.

I completely sympathise.

I have very poor night vision so never drove after dusk - until one evening I had to (it was an emergency).

It was horrendous! Although the roads were almost empty, thank heavens, not even being able to distinguish where eg kerbs were etc was terrifying. (It was raining that night, too). I also cried.

I did what someone else advised upthread and drove slowly and particularly carefully.

I hope never to have to do it again.

It's not the rear view mirror (which I flick to night mode) that causes me problems but incredibly bright lights from mainly SUVs in my wing mirrors which you can't adapt for night driving.

How am I dangerous when I drove at a slower speed due to the dangerous conditions and pulled over when I really felt unsafe?

You did the right thing, OP. If it doesn't feel safe, pull over and wait until it does.

Of course, it is more difficult to see in those conditions and there is-if the rain is very heavy-the threat of aqua-planing. So, don't think you're on your own in not liking it.

It is common sense to slow down in these conditions but, of course, not everyone has common sense and not everyone will do so. Try to ignore them but that is easier said than done.

If you are getting worked up and crying-as you were-then I think you did the right thing in pulling over in order to calm yourself. There is nothing wrong in waiting out bad weather conditions that are frightening you until the weather has passed or the roads are quieter.

If it is dark, I assume you are coming home so it doesn't matter if you get in an hour or two later than expected. That is better than not getting home at all.

Last night was extreme where I am, haven’t driven in weather that bad for a long time. What made it worse was the SUV drivers who had their full beams on and didn’t turn them off as other cars approached (rural, no street lights). One absolutely dazzled me!