Everyone knows that your Mum is always right....(mine is also psychic so I have no chance!!!) but on this occasion I have to take my hat off to her and say..Thanks Mum!!
I received an email from dear Mum a few weeks back with some handy hints & tips. One of them was to do with driving in torrential rain. I've copied and pasted it below with the second tip to do with cruise control).
I have just driven back from Argeles in a torrential downpour with my sunglasses on....yes you did read this right...sunglasses.
Said email stated that if you wear sunglasses in a torrential downpour whilst driving, your visibility is magically cleared and you can see through the rain....folks I've just done it and it's true!
Sadly not only did I look like a right idiot wearing dark glasses under a black sky on the dual carriageway but I was so impressed that it worked, I was also chuckling to myself in the car...Thank goodness the Commissariat and the Gendarmes don't like coming out on a Sunday in the rain....
GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR
How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour.
We are not sure why it is so effective; just try this method when it rains heavily. This method was given me by a Police friend who had experienced and confirmed it. It is useful... even driving at night. One method used by Canadian Military Drivers for years.
Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the wipers during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad...
In the event you face such a situation, just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do), and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain.
Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car, as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea.
Try it yourself and share it with your friends! Amazing, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling.
You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing semi's spraying you too.
Or the "kickup" if you are following a semi or car in the rain. They ought to teach that little tip in driver's training. It really does work.
This next warning is a another good one! I wonder how many people know about this:
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kinburn, Ontario was traveling between Kinburn & Ottawa. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!
When she explained to the OPP Officer what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON . She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain. But the Officer told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the OPP Officer that was exactly what had occurred.
The Officer said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.
The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the officer), was a man who had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.
NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on. If you send this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, then it was all worth it. You might have saved a life.