A transport consultant, Cecil Grabrah has shared some vital tips every driver need to know and apply when driving on a rainy day.

The guidelines form part of JoyNews’ ‘Drive Safe Campaign’ to help combat road accidents in the country.

Sharing tips on the station’s AM Show, Monday, Cecil Grabrah noted that road accident often occur because most drivers fail pay attention to the laid steps when it is raining.

Tip 1. Ensure your wipers blades are always soft and change them every three months.

According to Mr Grabrah, the wiper blades naturally must be soft and must be able to clean so well, therefore, drivers need to change them at least every three months.

“Because we are in Ghana, we are in Africa and it becomes very hard, very brachial and they may break,” he apprised.

He also advised that in a case where it is raining, windscreen wipers are not working, and the driver is unable to see ahead, the best thing to do is to park the vehicle.

“You cannot drive it rain and then you don’t have good wipers so find somewhere else and park. Don’t even move the vehicle unless the rain has completely stopped.

Tip 2. Ensure your car tyres are very good and always dry.

“You need very good tyres. At least your triode limits must not be less than 1.6 millimeters because in driving you have something we call aquaplaning, water must ooze out in-between the treads,” the transport consultant said.

He added that drivers must also ensure that their car tryes are always dry else “you can have the contact as breaking effects on the road depending on the type of road anyway, when it is asphalt it is much better.”

Tip 3. Do not rush or speed when it is drizzling or raining.

Speeding has been identified as one major cause of road accident. Mr Grabah wants drivers to take their time and slow down when it is drizzling or raining.

“There’s nothing like slowing down, but you actually need to slow down because the road becomes very slippery.”

The most dangerous part, he noted, is when it is drizzling because most of the time, there are lot oil leakages on the roads, “So when water touches the road, because of the heat it becomes very dangerous for you to drive on it.

"If you don’t take care, you go on your breaks, your breaks would not work so bear in mind that you need to slow down when it begins to rain rather.”

Tip 4. Never drive with the parking light, always use the headlights.

The transport consultant also observed that most drivers often turn to use their parking lights when its getting late instead of the headlights, he says it is so wrong.

“This is so wrong and I repeat, it’s so wrong. Don’t drive with your parking light when it is raining or even in the evening. You need to put your headlight on,” he advised. 

Tip 5. Keep your radio off or very low when driving.

Listening to the radio, maybe a nice music may be fun and stress free, but this act has been identified to be very dangerous as one may be engrossed in whatever he/she is enjoying from the radio.

“You need a lot of concentration. You need to listen to the sound of your vehicle,” Mr Grabrah said.

He also advised that drivers keep a firm grip on steering when it is raining, avoid driving with the parking lights on and never drive in floods, no matter the type of vehicle one is driving.