Did you know that driving on wet leaves can be dangerous? Read on. Wet or frozen leaves can reduce your cars’ traction, which causes skidding or losing control of the leaves. Often the leaves can cover painted road markings, making it hard to know where the lanes are.
- Slow down if you are driving on a road covered with leaves, especially when driving around turns.
- Allow yourself plenty of room to stop in an emergency. Keep a greater distance between you and the car in front of you.
- Leaves make it difficult to see potholes and bumps in the road.
- A pile of leaves raked to the side of the road is an inviting place to a child. Children enjoy jumping into the leaf piles or burrowing down into them and hiding. Never drive through a leaf pile. Use caution going around turns and where children are playing.
- Keep your windshield leaf free to avoid wet leaves getting stuck under the windshield wiper blades.
- In order to avoid the possibility of a fire hazard from the exhaust system or catalytic converter, never park your vehicle over a pile of leaves .
Changing Weather Conditions
In many areas, autumn is a damp, wet season. There are many rainy or foggy days and nights. As the temperatures drop, frost often coats the ground at night.
- When driving in fog, set your headlight to low beam. This setting aims the beam of light down toward the roadway.
- In the fall as temperatures drop, frost often forms on the roadway, causing hazardous driving conditions. Drive slowly and break gently at overpasses and bridges as these areas frost over more quickly than other roadway surfaces.
- Be aware of areas where black ice forms on the roadway.
