Tips For Driving On A Windy Day

By  //  March 14, 2022

When planning a trip, wind could be the last of your safety concerns. What you may not know is that winds of 30 to 45mph are enough to blow your car off course. Besides the danger of blowing your car off course, winds can blow other vehicles your way, resulting in an accident.

The chance of a vehicle getting blown over by the wind increases significantly with the size of the vehicle. “Large trucks, buses, vans,  and vehicles towing cargo, are vulnerable to losing control or tipping over in high winds,” cites Chad E. Jones, a Lubbock-based personal injury attorney. Unfortunately, when an accident happens due to bad weather, somebody will be liable for the accident, and you don’t want to be that person.

Don’t Travel Unless It’s Urgent.

Before setting off on a trip, the weather advisory is the first thing to check out. The United States National Weather Service provides timely advisories of bad weather conditions so, you may want to check out their website before getting on the road. 

If high winds are forecasted, you may want to reconsider your decision to get on the road unless you have an emergency. 

Drive Slowly And Watch Out

The first instinct in a bad situation is to get out of it as quickly as possible, but speeding may not be a good idea in high wind. Driving at high speeds makes your vehicle prone to being shifted by the winds. Additionally, driving at high speeds means that you will have a shorter time to react if a sudden gust of wind blows your vehicle off course. While driving at a low speed may not mean that you will have it easy on a windy drive, it can help you respond promptly and avoid a crash.

If you can feel the effects of strong winds in a smaller car, you can be sure that truck drivers have it much harder to control their vehicles. This is primarily due to their larger surface area, which creates greater resistance to the wind and increases the chances of toppling over. Therefore, you may want to drive farthest as possible from them.  

Sustained winds of more than 30 mph are enough to blow small pieces of debris on the road. The chances of debris being strewn on the road are even higher as the speeds of the winds increase. That means you will need to look for debris and falling trees if you are driving through a forested area.

Irrespective of the urgency of your travel, driving through a wind that’s felling trees and branches is not worth it. Instead, find a place with the least tress to park and only proceed when the winds die down.

Hand On The Wheel

Both hands should be on the steering wheel at all times, with your left and right hands at 8 and 4 o’clock, respectively. However, in high winds, the need to have both hands on the wheel is even greater.

Often winds come in sudden gusts that could catch you off guard and result in an accident. Properly maintaining your hands on the wheel means you can control your vehicle better when blown off course.