Can you ride a scooter or a moped in the rain? Yes you can ride a scooter or a moped in the rain but in order to do that you have to take the necessary precautionary measures:
- Wear proper equipment
- Avoid slippery surfaces
- Reduce your speed
- Keep a greater distance between you and other drivers
- Don’t be in a hurry
Now let’s take a closer look at each measure that you have to take in order to safely ride in the rain.
Table of Contents
The Proper Equipment
Helmet
The first thing that you have to wear is a proper helmet with a good visor. A helmet with a visor will prevent water drops from hitting you in the eye, and you will be able to see the road clearly.
Be careful when you buy a helmet, a cheap one might not have a visor which makes it almost useless when it rains, and some cheaper models with a visor don’t have proper air circulation and the visor will get all blurry. And of course some visors will distort the image that you see through them too much. So make sure that you invest in a good helmet, it’s one of the most important pieces of equipment that you can own.
Gloves
It’s easy to overlook the gloves, because they don’t seem that important, but in reality they protect one of the most important parts of your body when you are driving, your hands.
If your hands get cold they will inevitably lose some sensation, which will inevitably lead you to lose some control. And in some situations this can even lead to a crash. Another thing that gloves do is that they prevent your hand from slipping. So make sure that you have some gloves with you , just in case it will start to rain.
When choosing a pair of gloves you have to make sure of three things, the first one is that water won’t pass through them, the second one is to make sure that they have a good grip. And finally make sure that they will keep your hands warm.
The helmet and the gloves are mandatory if you want to drive in the rain, but wearing waterproof clothes in general is a good idea. But this part I will leave up to you, while they will make a difference for your comfort, they won’t impact your driving as much.
Avoid Slippery Surfaces
This might seem very obvious, but it’s so important that I still have to mention it.
Here is a short list of the slipperiest things that you will find on the road:
- Road markings
- Manhole covers
- Standing water
- Any unknown surface
It’s important to avoid any kind of unknown surface because it can always be slippery.
The next thing that you have to avoid is not on the list, but it’s probably one of the most dangerous thighs.
The Most Dangerous Time to Raid When it Rains
The most dangerous time to ride during the rain is right at the start. This is because at that moment the road will be filled with dust, dirt and other small debris that will get very slippery when they get wet, after it rained for 5 minutes the road will generally be cleaner and not as slippery.
So if you are a beginner and rain catches you on the road, you should slow down for the first 5 minutes or so, or even take a short break in a dry place if you are not confident enough in your abilities.
Reduce Your Speed
This is a universal rule for every vehicle, and one of the first things that they teach you when you start to learn to drive.
The main things that reducing your speed will help you with are stability and control. And those two things are the most important things when riding. Having control over your scooter will help you maintain a good stability. And if you lose your stability you will most likely fall. And why would you want to do that?
Another important reason why you should reduce your speed is that there might be a maniac in traffic that will not reduce its speed and might lose control. If that happens near you, having a lower speed will allow you to break, or to avoid him a lot easier than it would have been otherwise.
Keep a Greater Distance Between You and Other Drivers
This is another very important precautionary measure.
In traffic a lot of unpredictable things can happen, even more so when it rains. And breaking is a little more difficult while the road is wet since the break distance can increase significantly.
So increasing the distance between you and the person in front of you can really help you in case something happens.
The exact distance that you should keep can depend on how heavy it rains. But in general most countries and states have rules about those kinds of things. So if you want to know the exact distance, check out your local laws.
In the end let me give you a few extra tips from my own experience that will help you ride safer when it rains.
A Few Extra Tips
The first tip is to try to follow the dry trail that car wheels live. Cars are very heavy and their wheels put a lot of pressure on the road, and as a result they throw away the water on a small portion. Try and follow that trail, the road will be a lot smoother.
Be very careful around corners, try to reduce your speed as much as you can and avoid standing water, if you are not careful enough you will definitely fall, or even worse hit something or someone.
If the wind is powerful be extra cautious and reduce your speed even more.
If the rain gets too powerful and you are not confident enough in your abilities, or if you have even the slightest worry you should stop, there is no shame in recognizing that you reached your limit. Even the best riders won’t be able to ride during a dangerous storm.
It’s always a bad idea to increase your speed thinking that you will get to your destination faster and spend less time in the rain.
Conclusion
So that’s about it. Overall the most important thing is to try to be as safe as possible and not to hurry to reach your destination.
Here is the quick list from the beginning of the article, with the things that you have to take into consideration:
- Wear proper equipment
- Avoid slippery surfaces
- Reduce your speed
- Keep a greater distance between you and other drivers
- Don’t be in a hurry
Stay safe!