Road safety is always paramount. However, in particular at this time of the year, drivers of rural roads should exercise extreme caution.
Not only does colder weather make roads slippery and the atmosphere foggy, but there may also been people home for the holidays who are unfamiliar with their surrounding rural roads, and may drive dangerously because of this.
With this in mind, Jade Devlin, motor expert at National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Mutual, is sharing some top tips on road safety for rural roads.
First and foremost, Devlin is reminding drivers that speed limits are not targets.
Designated speed limits are provided as a maximum legal guide, however, hazards such as sharps bends, animals on the road and changing conditions often mean that drivers should determine their speed by the circumstances, rather than the speed limit, she said.
In rural areas there can be a lot of winding roads. When driving on twisting roads, slow your car ahead of the bend to a speed which will allow you to stop should a hazard emerge around the corner, Devlin said.
Should it be foggy, Devlin recommends looking ahead and using tree lines, telegraph poles and hedges to determine where the road is going.
Dirty roads
The prevalence of farm vehicles on rural roads inevitably means that there will sometimes be mud from the fields left on the road.
Mud, along with wet leaves, can be incredibly slippery in wet conditions. Because of this, it is very important to exercise caution, Devlin said.
Anyone driving on a rural road should expect to share it with horses and their riders.
Spotting a fresh pile of manure should alert you to the possibility that horses are not far away. Drivers should slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary.
On rural roads, hedges and overgrown trees can also make it difficult to clearly see the road ahead.
This difficulty is increased in fairer weather, when there may be more ramblers, runners, horse riders and cyclists using the roads.
Assess your speed according to your surroundings, Devlin said.
Drivers on rural roads must also look out for signs that indicate you may encounter wildlife.
If you do, Devlin siad, your natural instinct might be to swerve to avoid a rabbit or pheasant, but this is dangerous and could cause a serious collision due to losing control of your vehicle.
Road safety
When it comes to animals, Devlin had some further tips for rural road safety.
Larger animals present a bigger problem, she said. If there’s no oncoming traffic then sounding your horn may startle the animal to move safely out of the way, whilst braking could reduce the severity of an impact, but always be mindful of vehicles behind you.
Farmers often need to use rural roads to move livestock such as cattle, horses and sheep to and from their fields, usually at dawn and at the end of the day.
If the road is blocked by livestock the best thing to do is stop the car, turn off your engine and wait patiently.
Tractors and farm machinery may also be present on roads
However, usually a tractor will not be travelling too far up the road, so it won’t be long before the road is clear again.
If you do decide to overtake, make absolutely sure the road ahead is clear and consider any junctions ahead that motorists may pull out from.
Due to their size, tractors might swing out to the right before turning left; be aware of this before making the decision to overtake.
If temperatures drop below freezing in your area, the road surface on bridges will be the first to freeze when the temperate drops, whilst roads that run underneath them will often be the last to thaw.
Devlin urges drivers to consider speed and stopping distance in icy conditions.
If you see a church spire in the distance, it’s very likely that you’re about to drive into a residential area, so be prepared to reduce your speed and look out for vulnerable road users – especially children, she concluded.
