How Weather Conditions Affect Learner Drivers and How to Prepare

Learning to drive comes with plenty of variables that you need to navigate, with the most challenging being the Great British weather. Famously unpredictable, the weather can change how you need to approach driving pretty dramatically! This, understandably, can give learner drivers lots of anxiety. So to help you out a little, we’ve put together a guide to driving in all kinds of weather conditions so you can build your confidence.

Rain

One of the most important things to remember when driving in the rain is to reduce your speed and leave more space between you and the vehicle in front. This is because the stopping distances in rain are increased. Another reason why speed is important is that driving too fast through standing water could lead to your tyres losing contact with the road, something known as aquaplaning. If your steering feels very light, you should ease off the accelerator, avoid braking and just allow your speed to reduce until you are able to steer normally again.

Fog

Driving in fog means dealing with a much lower level of visibility. Again, the solution to this is to reduce your speed and only drive as fast as conditions allow, as well as leaving 4 seconds instead of 2 between you and the car in front. Use dipped headlights, wipers and demisters. What about fog lights? Our advice is to use them when you need to, but don’t forget to switch them off once viability has improved, as they can dazzle other drivers.

Snow and ice

Winter weather strikes real fear into learner drivers, but you’ll be fine if you take certain precautions. You should accelerate gently, use low revs and change up to a higher gear as quickly as possible. In fact, moving off in second gear (or using winter mode on some car models) can really help to reduce wheel slip. If visibility is poor, follow the above advice for driving in fog. If you find yourself skidding, don’t panic and try to swerve out of it! Instead, gently steer into the same direction. Never take your hands off the steering wheel or brake harshly.

Bright sunshine

This is a little bit of an unusual one, but hear us out! Bright sunshine can strike at any time of year, and it can make driving quite tricky, especially if the ground is wet and there is a lot of glare. Wearing sunglasses is a good idea (these should be prescription if you need glasses to drive). Use your sun visors too. Although you may be sick of hearing this by now, you should reduce your speed and increase the distance between you and the car in front.

We’re here to help

You might be tempted to reschedule your lesson if the weather isn’t great, but building experience in a wide range of conditions is vital to passing your test and becoming a confident driver. Your instructor will be there to support you in the car and take over if needed, and will never push you to go ahead with a lesson if conditions are truly unsafe.