Watch Out for Deers! And Other Autumn Driving Hazards

Watch Out for Deers!

And Other Autumn Driving Hazards

There are many driving hazards to watch out for during the fall season—deers just being one of them. From wet leaves stuck to the ground and the possibility of stray cats sleeping underneath your car in order to stay warm, it is important to be on the lookout at all times. As the weather continues to get colder, make sure to keep a constant eye on your tire pressure in your vehicle. As the weather grows colder, tires can lose one to two pounds of pressure for every ten-degree temperature drop. 

Leaves Hazard 

While the falling leaves during the autumn season can be quite beautiful, the moment they hit the slick pavement it can cause quite a problem for drivers. By either obscuring traffic lines on the road, or sticking to your tires, it is important to be very cautious. The wet leaves on the pavement can be just as dangerous as ice, especially when it come to breaking in a hurry. The wet leaves can cause your car to slide , so never brake directly on top of them. Instead slow to a stop beforehand if you notice them on the ground. 

Deer Safety

The Autumn season, specifically October through December, is the prime season for deer mating and a time for group migration. If you live in an area with a high deer population, be cautious when driving, especially when driving along heavily wooded areas; be on higher alert during the early mornings and evenings because this is the height of deer activity. Also, since this a high migration season, deer are pack animals—so if you come across one while driving, proceed with caution because most likely there are more. If a deer darts across the road, never swerve in order to miss the deer—this will have a higher chance of hurting yourself and/or other drivers on the road. The best thing to do is to try to slow down to avoid colliding with the deer(s) present. 

Fog & Frost Safety

The occurrence of fog and frost are at an all-time high during the autumn. If your car is not parked in a garage over night, make sure you give yourself enough time to defrost your car in the morning. You need to make sure that you can fully see out of your windshield, all of your windows, and your side view mirrors—you must have full visibility. Also, when it comes to frost, this problem is not just reserved for your car, frost will also occur on bridges due to cold air going underneath it. Whenever you come across a bridge during this season, always proceed with caution and give the car in front of you ample space just in case the inevitable happens. 

If you happen upon a foggy morning or evening, there are a few rules that should always be followed. First, make sure you have a safe distance between you and the driver in front of you. Visibility is extremely low during this time, so if you have to break rapidly, you have a safer distance between you and other cars. Secondly, never use your high-beam lights in a foggy area. Instead of giving you better visibility, the light could interrupt the visibility of others on the road. Keep  on your low beams on, and if you have fog lights on, definitely use those. 

Dealing With Sun Glare

When driving towards an intersection, be extremely careful of sun glare bouncing off of the stoplights. The sun glare can make it difficult to see whether the light is green, yellow or red. If you can, polarized sunglasses can help with this quite a bit. It allows you to have a better distinction of colors present. The worst times of the day for sun glare are 15 to 45 minutes after the sunrise and before sunset. Sunglasses are your best friend during this time. Also take advantage of your sun visor but make sure it is not obstructing your view.

Increase in Rainfall 

Even though most people associate a rainy season with Spring, Autumn is also considered to be a rainy season. Rain during this time of year can pose a lot of threats that most people may not realize. As mentioned previously, rain and fallen leaves are not a good combination. Excess water on the road can cause leaves to be slippery and therefore make it much harder to break. Also, with daylight savings just around the corner, the days will begin to get shorter and sunset will start happening much earlier. This means it is extremely important to stay alert while driving in the rain at night. As Pennsylvania law require, if it is raining and your windshield wipers are on, your headlights must also be on. make sure you change your windshield wipers whenever you start to see them create streaks.