It's amazing how quickly normalcy on the road can turn into emergency. One moment, you are relaxed and thinking about what you want to eat for dinner, and next moment your head is almost touching the windshield, your chest pressed against the steering wheels.

All that can happen in no more than 5 seconds. Yesterday, 5 seconds was how long it took for my car to come to a complete stop from 80 Km/hr, on a slippery road on rainy afternoon. And 5 seconds was how long it took to create a pile up of 5 cars.

Luckily, I managed to stop half a foot behind a white Toyota, and equally luckily, the blue pickup truck behind me managed to stop less than that behind my a$$.

But it was unlucky for the blue pickup truck, as 4 other cars had crashed behind him.

It wasn't a serious crash, as nobody was injured, but the cars weren't so fortunate... while the drivers and passengers won't need to visit the hospital, their cars will surely be parked in garages for at least a week.

The rainy season has come, and the roads will be slippery... I wish everyone will drive more carefully, and slowly when it rains...

To be safe during the rain, you have to

- Have wipers in good condition.

Some cars' wipers are so old, they actually make it less visible when they are turned on! You should replace them as soon as you see even a small damage on the rubber... don't be stingy... it only costs few hundred Baht...

- Drive slower than usual.  

It takes SO much longer to stop your car in the rain, than on dry road. Especially when you slam your brakes hard in emergency situations, your tires are easily locked and you will skid off control. Don't rely on ABS or EBD to save your life... being late is better than being dead!

- Drive farther away from the car in front of you.

The car in front of you will kick up the water and impair your vision! If you drive close to the car in front, your windshield will get all muddy, and the wipers will smear that dirt all over your windshield, making it difficult to see! And being farther away, you'll have more time to react to emergency stops.

- Turn on your lights.

Even if you can see the cars in front of you, your car will be invisible to the cars in front of you because their rear view mirrors would be blurred by rain drops. It's standard safety procedure.

- Don't change lanes unless you absolutely have to.

It is during lane changes that things are most likely to go wrong. If you just stay on your lane and follow that car in front of you, you will be OK... Just watch out for the car in front of you coming to sudden stop...

- And finally, fill up the water tank for wipers.

Sometimes when the rain stops, dirt and mud from the road will be kicked up by the cars and land on your windshield. And you're gonna need plenty of water to wash it off, and if you run out of water in the tank, you are screwed. So fill it up whenever you can...

Hope all of you drive home safely! :-)