Good vision in a downpour

sydster

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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 told by a Police friend who had experienced and confirmed it. It is useful....even driving at night.


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 warning is a 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 Kilgore , Texas she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore. 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 highway patrolman 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 highway patrolman 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 patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat
sun-visor - NEVER USETHE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN

[FONT=&quot]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 patrolman), 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[/FONT]
 
Nice info!!

I was gonna recommend RainX or any other sealant like Opti-seal etc. on the windshield and other windows for the rain problem!
 
The sun glass trick is partially true. Polarized sun glasses will reduce glare -- that is what they are designed to do. The effect isn't as miraculous as is claimed in this email, but reducing the glare from headlights does improve visibility during a downpour.

However, this statement is false:
just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do)
Not all sun glasses are polarized, so you can't really say that any model will do.
 
Nice info!!

I was gonna recommend RainX or any other sealant like Opti-seal etc. on the windshield and other windows for the rain problem!

Ya, That was the first thing I thought of too when I first read it. LOL!
 
The sun glass trick is partially true. Polarized sun glasses will reduce glare -- that is what they are designed to do. The effect isn't as miraculous as is claimed in this email, but reducing the glare from headlights does improve visibility during a downpour.

However, this statement is false:
Not all sun glasses are polarized, so you can't really say that any model will do.

Ya, You have a point, but I haven't tried it yet.
 
The hydroplaning effect is much more true with front wheel drive. With rear wheel drive the front wheels break the water film so that the rear drive wheels don't lose contact with the road. Another solution to this problem is get an Audi Quattro
 
The hydroplaning effect is much more true with front wheel drive. With rear wheel drive the front wheels break the water film so that the rear drive wheels don't lose contact with the road. Another solution to this problem is get an Audi Quattro


This is true, however some people have the misconception that quattro or awd is the magic tool when you're driving past 55mph in dangerous weather.

Might just be getting too personal, but that mentality almost killed a few buddies of mine when a reckless driver thought his quattro would take a turn in the snow at ~45 mph. Needless to say the car was eventually totaled. Driver and passengers were fine. Audi does do a great job protecting passengers in a collision/accident, but lets not even get to that point!

/semi-rant
 
Not to discredit the OP, but I have Aquapel on my Jeep and have literally sat right behind a semi downpour and could see just fine. No wipers needed.
 
I know some don't like the way rain-x does not clear off the windshield to leave is crystal clear sometimes but once the rain starts its like magic.
 
You guys take your car out in the rain?! lol. I had a couple of front wheel drive cars start to hydro plane, it's a scary feeling to have the front end start to fish tail. The kind of tires that are on the vehicle makes a big difference. High performance, handling tires = quicker hydro planing and skidding.
 
However, this statement is false:
just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do)
Not all sun glasses are polarized, so you can't really say that any model will do.
Have you tried this with non polarized sunglasses?

I thought this was common knowledge. I have been doing it for the near 15 years I have been driving, and even talked my mom into trying it one day when I was just still a passenger and noticed the difference. ANY sunglasses I have ever tried this with (colored lenses, black lenses, dime store, whatever) have always produced better vision results in the rain. In hard down poors on the interstate, I will always put on glasses - have even wore my wife's cheapies before when I didn't have mine.

I don't think it is as dramatic as the e-mail sounds, but I have found it to be the case.

Given my personal results, I would say that polarized lenses may make it even better - but to say that non-polarized doesn't work is either untrue, or I am a liar.

Will my $ store sunglasses work :cool:
IME, yepper. :D

DLB
 
I have 2 Chryslers (LHS/300) and they will both turn OFF the cruise control when the vehicle hit's pools of standing water or starts to hydro in the rain.
IDK about the sunglass thing (especially when its dark out:bash:) but products like:
Aquapel Rain Repellent,GTechniqG1,Adams glass sealant,Diamondite Glass Sheild ect.. are All very good products when it comes to rain down pour,for visibility.
 
As soon as your wheels hit water enough to hydroplane the wheel speed changes, and the cruise senses this and "faults out" i.e. shuts off. On older cars with vacuum mechanical cruise systems the delay it took from throttle to throttle-off was long, not to mention lift throttle is also something bad to do when the wheels start to slide (it increases the slide). This sounds like what happened in the case in the OP. So if the cruise shuts off it is doing what it should, just not doing the best it should due to system limitations.

But I will agree with everyone in that cruise in rain is bad. But I will add that an unaware driver would have the same exact effect if surprised. It is not like no one would spiking before cruise control existed. Further, with modern ESP systems now prevalent, I would argue the car can and will react faster than any driver could.

Unfortunately the most significant contributor to ESP capability is the vehicles base chasis tuning. For most passenger cars from any brand this means ESP can only do so much, and it can't overcome physics. Too fast is always too fast. Reckless will always be reckless.

Good tires are the second most significant factor, and the most significant for hydroplaning.
 
Thats why I tinted my whole windshield with 50% tint I didnt do it on my first vehicle but after I did it on my last to vehicles it makes driving at anytime a breeze
 
I know some don't like the way rain-x does not clear off the windshield to leave is crystal clear sometimes but once the rain starts its like magic.

I know how to remedy that problem (hazing) if your intrested in hearing

Thats why I tinted my whole windshield with 50% tint I didnt do it on my first vehicle but after I did it on my last to vehicles it makes driving at anytime a breeze

Thats legal in Florida? WOW...They don't allow that here
 
I totaled a truck few years back with my Cruise on.... Was going a little fast but having cruise on did not help. THanks for the tip..
 
I totaled a truck few years back with my Cruise on.... Was going a little fast but having cruise on did not help. THanks for the tip..

And there we go :wow: hopefully this thread will help save a life or two :dig:
 
Thats why I tinted my whole windshield with 50% tint I didnt do it on my first vehicle but after I did it on my last to vehicles it makes driving at anytime a breeze
That's what I did to my car as well. I have a really hard time with oncoming traffic at night, and in the rain when cars approach, I can't see the road. I literally had to look away and off the edge of the road everytime a car passed. Since I tinted the windshield, I can actually keep my eyes on the road.
 
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