The good weather entices motorists out of the cities into the country. But driving in the country can be a very different experience to driving around towns and on motorways. If drivers don’t adjust their speed and manoeuvring to suit the roads, they run the risk of being in an accident. Adrian Flux Insurance Services is able to provide you with driving insurance, protecting you from loss.
To help keep city drivers safe on their country jaunts, Adrian Flux Insurance Services offers the following advice.
- Although legally you can go at 60mph on a single carriageway road it is advisable to travel much slower than this on country roads. As with town driving, keep an eye on the speed limits, it’s tempting to let your speed creep up on an empty road.
- Road quality in the country can be unpredictable. There are likely to be more potholes and bumps than on city roads, as well as mud and debris dropped from farm vehicles. All these can affect your steering and if you go over a bump or hit a pothole too fast you may damage your vehicle.
- Some country roads are single track with poor visibility. Make sure you slow down, you never know what may be around the corner – a tractor, a group of cyclists coming towards you, a party of walkers or even a herd of cows. If necessary sound your horn as a warning.
- Farm driveways are often hidden until you are right on them. Look out for signs that warn you of their proximity.
- There are hazard signs in the highway code that are particularly applicable to country driving such as cattle, wild animals, wild horses, hidden dip, quay side or river bank and risk of grounding. Check you know and can recognise these.
- Slow down for horse riders and don’t sound your horn to let them know you are there. A spooked horse can not only unseat its rider but can also inflict considerable damage on your car.
- Nowadays it’s tempting to rely on Sat Navs for getting from A to B but often in the country they can be alarmingly wrong as witnessed by this recent article in the Telegraph. It makes sense to invest in a good road atlas of the UK and familiarise yourself with it before setting off. You can’t beat an Ordnance Survey map if you are planning to go off the beaten track.
- The weather in the country can change suddenly from a beautiful sunny day to a heavy storm with poor visability and associated flooding, especially if you are on exposed moors. The trickle of water in the unbridged ford ahead can become an angry torrent and you could get stranded or even washed away. Wet Roads UK is an online guide to fords, watersplashes and tidal roads in the UK. It lists an impressive 1964 fords of which 1888 have full listings and photographs, which are regularly updated.
- And if you want a visual reminder of what you might encounter on a typical country drive, this short humourous clip on the BBC Learning Zone summarises some of the hazards.