Good visibility, tyres and brakes are essential for when it rains heavily
Poor weather can appear without warning, especially in today’s age of climate change and extreme seasonal rains. Parts of South Africa are expecting heavy rain this summer, with flooding a distinct possibility in some regions. You need to be ready for it.
Getting through a heavy rainstorm is one thing if you’re safe at home — but it’s quite another if you’re driving. If you’re caught in a sudden downpour while you’re on the road, it’s too late to prepare. If you want to drive safely in bad weather, you need to get your vehicle ready in advance.
Preparing your car for poor weather isn’t difficult at all. It’s also surprisingly inexpensive if your car has no mechanical issues, so there’s really no excuse for not ensuring that you’re completely ready. In this guide, we’ll provide a simple checklist explaining exactly how to do it.
The most important part of getting ready for poor-weather driving is ensuring that you can see. Your car’s windows need to be clean, clear and ready to remove water efficiently.
Your tyres generate the friction that’s necessary to help you maintain control of your car when the road conditions are less than ideal. They can only do their job if they’re properly inflated, so check their air pressure at least once a month. Learn more about proper tyre maintenance.
If your tyres are getting older, you’ll also need to check the tread depth to ensure that the tyres will function optimally in poor weather. You can do that by looking at the wear indicators. These are the small bars that are positioned between the rows of treading and run perpendicular to the direction of the tread. If the tread is the same height as the wear indicators, it’s time for new tyres.
Making sure that your tyres have the proper tread depth isn’t just best for safety — it’s also necessary in order to keep your car street legal. South African law requires you to replace your tyres when the tread depth falls below 1 mm.
If your car’s headlight lenses are cloudy and yellow, your visibility will be poor when you drive at night. New headlights can be costly for some vehicle models, but headlight lens restoration kits are inexpensive and are available at any auto parts shop. A lens restoration kit typically consists of the following:
Restoring your headlight lenses takes about an hour, and the results can potentially last years. As an added benefit, it can also make your car look much newer.
Don’t forget that checking your headlights isn’t just a matter of making sure that the lenses are clear — you also need to confirm that the bulbs themselves work properly. Test the headlights periodically to confirm that both lights have functioning low and high beams.
Making your car safe for bad weather essentially comes down to three things that we’ll call the “Triple S Rule.” You need to make sure that you can See, Steer and Stop. The final part of that rule comes next: you need to get your car’s brakes inspected yearly before the rainy season begins. Remember that replacing worn brake pads early can help you avoid a full brake job, which costs much more. The average cost for brake pad replacements is just R350 per axle if you do the work yourself or about R1500 per axle if you have a mechanic replace the pads and resurface the rotors for you.
Between inspections, it’s important to recognise the potential signs of brake issues and get them checked out right away. Common signs of brake problems include:
Getting your car ready for poor weather isn’t just a matter of confirming that the vehicle is mechanically sound — it’s also about ensuring that you’ll be as safe and dry as possible if things don’t go as planned. Assemble a severe weather kit and store it in your car’s boot. Some of the things that you might want to put in the kit include:
As you get your car ready for the rainy season, it’s important to remember that some severe weather situations are inherently unsafe regardless of your car’s condition. If it’s not possible to drive safely, don’t drive.
