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

Sending my sympathies. I hate it too, always have done. We live in the country and everyone apart from me seems to now drive new 4x4s with LED lights, and even without rain I seem to spend a lot of time being dazzled and only being able to see a very small distance ahead. I've bitten the bullet and had brighter bulbs fitted. It's not something I wanted to do as I feel it adds to the problem of bright lights, but I can't beat them so have joined them. It has helped for getting general night driving, and in the rain.

It doesn’t sound to me like there’s anything wrong with your driving. The conditions last night were extremely bad and I was very glad to not be driving in them.

Sometimes in bad weather it’s easier to see when there is someone’s light ahead of you, that may have caused the tailgating (no excuses for tailgaters they annoy me frequently). But if you have no one up ahead it can be difficult to even see where the road is.

OP you are not alone. I was caught in heavy rain along a country road with no headlights or road markings last night. The road had deep puddles and standing water, yet so many drivers were tanking along it and tailgating each other. I actually know the road pretty well, but in the dark, with the rain so heavy my wipers were struggling to clear it on maximum speed and constant dazzle from all the SUV’s and LED headlights (especially when they’re out of alignment) I was still really stressed and scared.

The car in front of me was racing ahead, then suddenly braking hard when a car came the other way or they realised they were at a sharp bend. It’s 50 along there, but I hung back and drove at a speed I felt was appropriate for the weather, which was 35- 40, depending on the particular stretch of road. Plenty of other drivers were doing the same, but there were still enough idiots on the road to make it dangerous. One particularly memorable numpty tried tailgating me and flashing to make me move faster when I was doing 40, but failed to realise they only had one working headlight, so there was no way they could have had decent visiblity.

I’ve recently downsized my car from a large estate to a small one designed for use mostly around town and I really noticed the difference last night. I haven’t had to do much night driving since I bought it in the summer and now the nights are dark I have noticed the headlights are nowhere near as useful/effective as my old car. I also feel less safe in a small, lower-powered car than I did in my comfortable, powerful diesel, I get far more glare from other vehicles and I find other (mainly male drivers) are far more aggressive with me than they were when I was driving a large executive type car.

I am going to have to drive that road nightly from now on and it was bad enough last night that I came home and asked dh if I can change my car again and go up a size, as I just don’t feel safe enough driving in those conditions, even though my car has the highest NCAP ratings.

I was similar. Because there was so much standing water on the road all the headlights were reflecting up and it was impossible to see the road markings. Completely horrible conditions.

I should probably add that I would normally have pulled over and waited it out in conditions like that (and have done in the past) but there is absolutely nowhere to stop on this particular road and the next turn off is almost home anyway.

I was driving on roads on Monday that tend to collect standing water so I reduced my speed. The rain wasn't beating the wipers, I'd missed the worst of that, but there was still a lot of spray and potential for aquaplaning and driving style needed adjusting accordingly.

Still plenty of idiots flying past at 80mph though (dual carriageway). And if one lost contol on hitting standing water, the next one wouldn't be able to avoid. There were also cars apparently happy to follow my pace as they didn't take opportunities to over take.

It's worth being aware of vehicles ahead. Not as simple as monkey see, monkey do, but if they move towards the centre or brake then you may also need to adjust, and you should have plenty of distance to observe and react for yourself, and that distance needs to be greater than in clear, dry conditions. If the rain is beating the wipers, visibility can be too poor for that. If the vehicle ahead moves ahead, that's their perogative.

I started learning to drive in late summer so many of my lessons were through winter nights. We had snow that winter and my instructor asked what I wanted to do and I said that I'll have to drive in it at some point so better the first time with the instructor than shying away. By the time I did my test the next summer, I'd had encountered a broad, realistic range of experiences.

Sorry if I've missed this OP, but when you have your last eyesight test, did they mention if you have something called astigmatism? It's when your eye is shaped more like a rugby ball than a football, and is very common - often those with this condition struggle in low light conditions when it's rained and there are dazzling lights. Things like specific coatings on your glasses, or even changing the lights on your car can help with this tremendously.

I wear glasses for driving at night when I'm tired only, as I find I need a little boost for distance. I have an anti-glare coating which helps, but as much as it pains me to say so, having a car with LED headlights that have crisp, white light is the single greatest thing that has helped with this. Because I'm conscious of blinding others, I do have matrix LED's that alter their pattern to not dazzle others, but I know that they can still be irritating to others.

All of the above aside, when it's belting it down with rain and it's dark, I tend to just avoid driving because the other dickheads on the road who don't adjust their driving for the conditions are more likely to kill me than my own driving is. Having worked in Neuro-rehab when I was training, and seeing the impact of having to teach people to talk, eat and drink again after brain injuries, it really sharpened the senses to how stupid people are on the road, and how I would ideally like to avoid that experience for myself.

I felt like this last night. The rain was so heavy I could not see anything.

Pull over and wait for it to pass - it rarely stays truly torrential for very long.
Just drive slowly and try not to worry about what others are doing.

It sounds silly but try not to look too far ahead.
I panic myself as I can't see where the road goes but really you just need to take it one section at a time.

I always hate it at this time of year as I'm not used to it and need to adjust again

hi @hanketypankety - you are not alone - a game changer for me was buying some night driving glasses that fit over my own - they are like sunglasses but they cut the glare from oncoming traffic massively - turn all the bright white lights a duller yellow.

I still hate driving in conditions like last night (once had to do it with a car full of DC on the M25 😱) but the glasses make a real difference.

I have astigmatisms and recently found out that this impacts night driving - thought it was me and couldn't understand why struggling etc.

It is worst with bad weather and none lit roads where many cars forget to dim lights etc.

I do

1. try and avoid night driving, or limit it
2. Have coatings on glasses
3. Do have a decent sized car with good all round visibility
4. reduce speed in poor weather and keep back from other cars.

Keep an eye on the roads for lines and cats eyes - but look ahead, try and avoid braking whenever there is a car on the otherside. Was behind someone the other day and particularly noticed this - driver was all over the road position wise and every time there was a car on the otherside braked. They were varying their speed from 20 to 50 as well. Good lesson for my DD sat in passenger seat who is currently a learner

Follow cat'd eyes or the curb. Headlights that are too bright (look full beam but apparently aren't) tend to hide the road markings and blind you to everything else around. Also the newer badly angled street lighting that manages to be both too bright and unable to light street all at the same time. Very frustrating. This is all made worse by rain which makes all the lighting glare. Add in pitch black sections of road, badly marked speed bumps and non or wrongly indicating drivers and it's hellish. I think tete should be a law against headlights that are too bright. Dazzling oncoming traffic is not safe for anyone at all. Same with speed bumps. So busy looking out for them (moreso in the dark) ad it's even harder to see pedestrians in dark clothing.
Yo did the right thing @hanketypankety slowing down and pulling over. Many drivers are awful.

As someone who was cycling to work in it, it's nice to know that there's sensible people like you driving appropriately for the conditions.
Do you have front fog lights? That makes a huge difference in poor visibility conditions.

You shouldn't feel embarrassed. I hate driving in the dark on motorways imparticular and heavy rain is horrible.

Sensible drivers should slow down, but idiots decide not to adjust their driving for the conditions. It's cold like this who cause accidents.

Just drive as slowly as you need to next time.

As a white van driver, sometimes with a fragile load in the back, and needing a lot of braking distance so everything does not go all over the place, I also have an issue with angry drivers driving right up behind me in terrible weather.

I have been known to stick the hazard lights and stick to what I feel is a safe speed. For sure in a modern car you are able to drive faster and feel a lot more secure than in an old van, but I don't think drivers in such cars know what it feels like to think that you are about to aquaplane off the road at every turn.

Once the hazard lights are on, no one gives you any grief, and you can turn them off once driving conditions improve. Its a cheat, but at least then they know there is nothing you can do about the speed you are driving at.

You drive to suit the road conditions, ignore those who drive too fast, they are the ones who risk aquaplaning and spinning off the road. It’s best to slow down and keep a good distance from the car in front, headlights on, make sure they clean: dirty headlights reduce visibility. Windscreen wipers: on full speed.
If glare from the headlights of oncoming are bothering you think about getting anti glare lenses, I got a pair of the yellow clip on type for DH from Amazon, he said they really helped.
Iv e pulled over into a car park if the rains been too bad to continue, nothing wrong with that.

I find those conditions trying too. When possible I put headlights on full beam to see the road; when I have to dip them I slow down. Anyone behind me can look after themselves

@TheNoonBell @Kazzyhoward and anyone else who cannot see what is wrong with just following the tail lights in front of you - YOU need to be able to see where you are going, not just relying on a driver unknown to you in front seeing where they are going. What if they are following the car in front of them, and so on? A long line of cars, and none of the drivers being able to see clearly enough to see the road.

What if you followed the car in front and it made an error, such as going through a give way sign at a crossroads? What if they got away with the error but you followed them blindly through the give way sign and were hit from the side? What if you hit someone from the side? What if you hit a cyclist from the side, or a lorry hit you? Do you think the reason ‘I couldn’t really see but I was following the car in front - with enough stopping room, of course!’ is a reasonable excuse?

I’m astounded that people think this is a good idea and are advocating it as a way of driving in poor visibility, and I’m even more astounded that when told it is dangerous, they are still convinced it is not.

Whenever you are driving - YOU, the driver of you vehicle, needs to be able to see the road ahead of you. This is not a ‘nice to have,’ it is essential to be able to see the road. If you cannot see it well enough, you need to slow down or even pull over.

Typical "I'm alright Jack and fuck everyone else" attitude. If your lights are on full beam, no-one coming towards you can see where they're are going. You're a twat. HTH.

"When possible", presumably when nobody else is coming towards them.

"when I have to dip them I slow down"

Perhaps this is what she does when she passes cars from opposite directions. Stop being so aggressive. HTH.

That poster didn’t say they were ‘nasty SUVs’. And nobody disputed that you may need the traction larger tyres and vehicles provide, but those roads weren’t actually built with them in mind, were they?

Also if your rang rover has newer lights then it should have the facility to adjust how high they point. My 13 year old car does.

It’s fine to put on your full beams as long as you’re not going to dazzle someone else.

Thing is lights on older cats r rubbish. Mine are poor and suck compared to the other newer cars which you need sunglasses for lol

ive been in a few situations on motorways where the rain is torrential and the spray from lorries means visibility is awful/almost non existent. I wear glasses all the time including for dr