How to Stay Safe From Fall Driving Hazards

Driving during fall is quite the experience. The air cools, and the foliage shifts from emerald green to sunset gold and vibrant red. But not everything about this season is pleasant. With fall comes driving challenges and dangers you don’t run into during other seasons.

Fortunately, you can prepare for fall driving hazards if you know about them. Learn about safe driving tips for fall.

Child Pedestrians and Student Drivers

Fall heralds the start of a new school year. Kids will head back to school. While many students will board school buses or ride their parents’ vehicles, others prefer to walk or hop on their bicycles.

There are also student drivers, some of whom have only recently received their license and are still practicing how to drive their cars.

Traffic in and out of school zones will pick up. If you find yourself on the road during school hours, either find another route or accept longer drives because of slower traffic and the need to drive more carefully.

If you see a stopped school bus with illuminated red flashers and extended stop arms, play it safe. Stop and wait for the child passengers to disembark the bus and enter their school before attempting to overtake the bigger vehicle.

Many states have laws that require other vehicles to stop for a school bus that has activated its flashers and deployed its stop arms. Some buses also have video cameras to record anyone who ignores the law and speeds past the unloading bus.

Low-Light Conditions

During fall, you might end up on the road while it’s still dark. It’s more difficult and dangerous to drive in low-light conditions. You can’t see far or well in front of you and to your sides. Colors start looking similar, which can lead to mistaken interpretations.

Headlights help immensely but can only reach so far and generate so much illumination that weakens over longer distances. And you’re not the only driver on the road. You might end up briefly blinded after staring into the bright headlights of a vehicle on the other side of the road.

Older drivers may find it more difficult to drive in the dark. They may require more illumination to spot and read road signs, and they are more vulnerable to headlight glare. Their reflexes may not be as good as they used to be.

If you expect to drive while it’s dark, always check the headlights and tail lights before driving your car. Replace a faulty light immediately to follow the law and stay safe on the road. You might also consider installing brighter vehicle lights if the factory-issue ones don’t provide enough illumination.

If you’re an older driver, protect yourself while driving in the dark. Consider getting night driving glasses to improve your vision in low-light conditions. Also, drive at low speeds to give yourself time to react and plan.

Animals Crossing the Road

Why did the deer cross the road? To find a mate. Fall is the mating season for deer. They’re so busy looking for potential partners that they might fail to notice your vehicle. And if you think headlight glare is bad for your vision, deer freeze in place because bright lights shining into their wide-open eyes blind them.

To make matters worse, adult deer weigh several hundred pounds. Their relatives, elk and moose, are even bigger. Hitting a deer while driving at high speed might lead to a serious accident.

Other critters also appear during fall. Depending on where you live, you might see badgers, bears, opossums, and other wild animals crossing the road.

Keep an eye out for wild animals. If you can spare the cash and your vehicle can mount one, install a bullbar or deer bumper. These rugged bumpers protect the front of your vehicle from getting damaged by a sharp collision.

Fall Foliage and Leaf Peepers

Fall gets its name from how the way dead leaves drop from trees and plants. While dramatically falling leaves look lovely, they can also cause practical problems for drivers like you.

If enough leaves pile up on the roadside, they might force drivers to park their vehicles elsewhere. Cyclists might also leave the safety of their designated lanes to avoid leaf piles. Depending on where they go, they might hit pedestrians on the sidewalks or collide with vehicles on the road.

Large quantities of fallen leaves might also conceal parts of the road that you would normally avoid or handle carefully, such as potholes. If they block drainage, puddles might form. And speaking of rain, the leaves turn slippery when wet, increasing the risk of losing tire traction.

You might also come across people who enjoy watching leaves fall from trees. Called leaf peepers, they include locals and tourists from out of town.

Exert caution when you see fallen leaves on the road. If you drive through areas that attract leaf peepers, keep enough stopping distance between your vehicle and the one ahead of yours.

Tire Pressure

Your vehicle relies on its tires to grip the road surface. Tire performance can change during fall, which might catch you off guard.

Tires usually lose some air pressure every month. However, the loss rate rises as the temperature drops. And fall is the season when the weather cools. Tires lose pressure faster during fall than they do during summer or spring.

Check your vehicle with a tire pressure gauge whenever you park it for several hours. Compare the readings with the recommended pressure values, which you can find on the driver’s side door, the door jamb, or your owner’s manual. Don’t use the number on the tire sidewall–that’s the maximum inflation value, not the recommended pressure level.

Slippery Road Surfaces

Roads generally become wetter during fall. Wet road surfaces reduce tire traction, increasing the risk of slipping and sliding. A sufficiently large puddle can make the front wheels hydroplane when driving through it, leading to steering loss.

Consider changing the standard tires out for all-season tires. Also called fall tires, they can handle the increasingly slippery roads.

Fortunately, sunglasses remain effective against sun glare even after summer has ended. Also, clean the windshield to remove dirt that might reflect glare.

Sun Glare

You’d think that sun glare becomes less of a problem as summer gives way to fall. However, it’s the opposite.

During fall, the sun moves lower in the sky and toward the horizon. Its lowered position directs sunlight into the eyes of drivers. The light also bounces at low angles off reflective surfaces like vehicles and building windows.

Fortunately, sunglasses remain effective against sun glare even after summer has ended. Additionally, clean the windshield of your vehicle to remove dirt that might reflect glare.

Fog and Frost

While frost usually appears during winter, it can appear as early as fall in certain weather conditions. Frost will cause the same problems it creates during winter, such as slippery road surfaces and blocking the view through glass.

Fog can also appear without warning and with increasing frequency. These low-lying clouds can render you effectively blind.

If you notice frost on the road, drive more slowly to retain control and minimize the risk of slipping. Look out for road signs warning about the bridge or overpass ahead freezing in cold temperatures.

To combat fog, turn on the fog lights. They have enough illumination to punch through the thick veil of water vapor.

Fog lights aren’t high-beam headlights. Don’t use the latter as a substitute because you’ll only end up blinding people with the ensuing glare.

No Experience With Fall Driving

Not all states have a fall season. Arizona, for instance, is too hot and dry for autumn. Other states might have a different version of fall. Take a look at Florida–it doesn’t get cooler, but the color of the foliage of local trees does change.

If you live in a state that doesn’t have fall and plan to drive in one that does experience fall, read up on fall driving safety tips. It’ll help you prepare on a mental level and you’ll know what to expect. Driving carefully will help you avoid the many fall driving hazards.

Where to Get Parts to Ensure Safety on the Road

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