Heads Up!

[madman4570]

Subject: Visibility in a Rainstorm


To Have Visibility in a Rainstorm While Driving


I received this from a friend! I never heard of this before. You can bet I will try it!
GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR
How to achieve good vision while driving during a heavy downpour. I can vouch for this!! We are not sure why it is so effective just try this method when it rains heavily.
This method was told by a Police friend who had experienced and confirmed it. It is useful...even driving at night.
Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the wipers during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is still bad......
In the event you face such a situation, just try your SUN GLASSES (any model will do), and miracle! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain. Make sure you always have a pair of SUN GLASSES in your car, as you are not only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might save your friend's life by giving him this idea..
Try it yourself and share it with your friends! Amazing, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet of rain falling. You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing semi's spraying you too. Or the "kickup" if you are following a semi or car in the rain.
They ought to teach that little tip in driver's training. It really does work

[cas]

I often wear my sunglasses driving long distances at night, I get much less eye strain.

[J Miller]

Never tried sunglasses at night. Might just try it.

Joe

[LeverBob]

Well I"ll be a dirty bird...never considered such a thing...Thanks Pard! I'll give it a try.

Thanks for looking out for the brethren

LB

[mikld]

Thanks, I'll try it. I'm moving to Oregon soon where it rains a little more than So. CA.

[rjohns94]

it works, I use my sunglasses at night all the time. on coming lights give me head aches, workds great in rain.

[wm]

I always wear sunglasses because the sun never sets on the cool.

Okay that is a really lame lyric from a really lame 80's song but it seemed to fit the moment.

Wm

[AmBraCol]

There's another lil' trick that works wonders - RainX. I've used it for years and it DOES make a great difference in visibility when the rain's coming down hard. Plus when it's just sprinkling there's no need to turn the wipers on, the water beads up and rolls away.

[AJMD429]

I wonder if it matters if they are the "polarized" type of sunglasses...?

[madman4570]

Good question,I called my sister-in-law that sent me this and she said even the ones from like the dollar store will work! I assume they dont have to be polarized but maybe I will grab one of each and head over to the car wash and try them while the wife gives er a spray,then we will switch and she can confirm it!

[alnitak]

There's another lil' trick that works wonders - RainX. I've used it for years and it DOES make a great difference in visibility when the rain's coming down hard. Plus when it's just sprinkling there's no need to turn the wipers on, the water beads up and rolls away.

+1. Once, my wipers were broken for six months. I used RainX and never needed them. The water just beads up and rolls off ... no more splats on the windshield, etc. It really is amazing.

[madman4570]

ya, I like that too! Now my wife says it bothers her at night with headlight glare using it ???
Maybe she should also use the sunglasses! No,really the only thing I have noticed it seems that the wiper blades dont last very long using it????????????but that might just be cohencidence ????????
But,yes I thought that stuff works very well also!

[AmBraCol]

There's another lil' trick that works wonders - RainX. I've used it for years and it DOES make a great difference in visibility when the rain's coming down hard. Plus when it's just sprinkling there's no need to turn the wipers on, the water beads up and rolls away.

+1. Once, my wipers were broken for six months. I used RainX and never needed them. The water just beads up and rolls off ... no more splats on the windshield, etc. It really is amazing.

This past summer I borrowed my brother-in-law's little Civic. Prior to heading out on our trip I tanked it up with windshield washer fluid that contains RainX type stuff. It also claims to help with bug splatters and such and that was what I was thinking of since we'd probably hit a mayfly hatch or ten on the trip. Well, we had the wettest summer out west I've ever seen and plenty of reason to use the windshield wipers and the washer fluid as well. That stuff really works! Not only did it keep the bug guts off with minimal washing, when we'd hit rain it would help keep the visibility under heavy down pours. I just wish we could get the stuff down here. And I don't mind paying double the price of windshield washer fluid to have the RainX in the tank. Last year I borrowed a car and tanked it up with the low temperature stuff. It also did great service.

Due to my vision problems, sunglasses are not an option - rain or shine. And the photosensitive lenses obviously don't kick in when it's overcast or dark. So that's why I chipped in with the RainX option. I know I'm not the only one who doesn't use "shades".

[Grizz]

I use sunglasses at night too. Try brown lenses. It does wonders for contrast on bright days with deep shadows, and completely eliminates glare from oncoming headlights.

Another tip, I use welder's goggles, the individual eye cup type with round flat lenses, when driving into the sunlight. They shield your eyes from side light, don't have glare problems because they're flat. I put brown lenses in them, the kind the eye doc gives you if you have your eyes dilated. They are perfect for blinding sunshine and make the drive MUCH SAFER. Doesn't prevent the squinters from doing stupid things, but you'll see it sooner. They're too dark for night driving. The only drawback, if you have a driver side blind spot the side shield will exacerbate it. Driver beware...

good topic

Grizz

[madman4570]

Some very interesting stuff I never knew guys.I will try the brown lenses/also I might just try that rain-x that comes premixed in the washer fluid.Maybe that is a bit less concentrated and wont bother the wife at night????????

[Mike D.]

I've used both rain-X and sunglasses for years and definitely KNOW that it works. Fast wipers are also a waste of time, actually doing little to assist vision in heavy rain. Standard speed wipers and rain-X will get you safely to your destination in a neighborhood monsoon.

[Papa]

I started wearing sunglasses in the rain when the "BlueBlockers" came out years ago. I've used some type of brown sunglasses every since for the same reason. I also use rainX on my bike and my truck.

My only problem in the rain now is trying to get around all those people that slow down less than half the speed limit because they can't see

[AmBraCol]

Some very interesting stuff I never knew guys.I will try the brown lenses/also I might just try that rain-x that comes premixed in the washer fluid.Maybe that is a bit less concentrated and wont bother the wife at night????????

One problem with the RainX applied to the windshield lays in not getting it all buffed out properly. It can leave swirls and such that are distracting or which make visibility difficult. I did not observe such problems with the premix stuff in the windshield washer fluid. Just regular use of squirting it on to clean off the dust and accumulated gunk from the highway soon had a good coating on that let rain roll right off. We put 11,000 miles on in six weeks this summer and I think it was in the first 3,000 that I saw the difference the fluid made.

[AmBraCol]

My only problem in the rain now is trying to get around all those people that slow down less than half the speed limit because they can't see

Yes, I know what you mean. I drove through some serious storming this summer. Had tornado warnings out and I really should have been "someplace safe" - but the closest thing to a "harbor" I had was another 70 miles ahead. Even through the downpour that had 541 flooded I had little problem with visibility through the windshield. The sheer volume of water coming down was amazing but I could see where I was going.

[Doc Hudson]

There's another lil' trick that works wonders - RainX. I've used it for years and it DOES make a great difference in visibility when the rain's coming down hard. Plus when it's just sprinkling there's no need to turn the wipers on, the water beads up and rolls away.

I am a great believer in Rain-X!!

Some years ago, I drove my manager and I over to Eupora, MS, to call on some customers. I'd just applied Rain-X tom my windshield. I'd talked about Rain-X to Frank before but he'd tried it and didn't have any success (he didn't follow the label directions on application apparently).

Anyway, it started raining on us just before we started back toward Indianola. I did not turn on my wipers. "Then is started to rain torrentially, still no wipers. Several times Frank asked if I were going to turn on my wipers, my response was sure, when I need them. To shorten a long story, I drove 80 miles in the dark with often torrential rain without ever turning on my wipers.

Frank sat in the passenger seat with his jaw hanging open and often saying, "If I hadn't seen it, I'd never have believed it."

Needless to say, Frank became a Rain-X convert thereafter.

Even with Rain-X, I'll give the sunglasses bit a try. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Blaine]

I started wearing sunglasses in the rain when the "BlueBlockers" came out years ago. I've used some type of brown sunglasses every since for the same reason. I also use rainX on my bike and my truck.

My only problem in the rain now is trying to get around all those people that slow down less than half the speed limit because they can't see

I've tried RainX on two scoot windshields and have not had luck of any kind with it.....Wouldn't work at all at city speeds and even 50 or over I really couldn't say if it was helping.....Maybe I"m not doing it right....

[madman4570]

I am sold AmBraCol, I am going out today and get some premixed stuff! Thanks a lot! Also thanks guys for the correct color shades to use! See ya!
P.S. I think I must have applied it to the window incorrectly,but the premix it should be fine!

[Doc Hudson]

Due to my vision problems, sunglasses are not an option - rain or shine. And the photosensitive lenses obviously don't kick in when it's overcast or dark. So that's why I chipped in with the RainX option. I know I'm not the only one who doesn't use "shades".

Paul,

Have you ever tried any of the wrap-around shades that will slip over a pair of glasses, or clip on sunglasses? That might be a solution to the problem.

[Doc Hudson]

I started wearing sunglasses in the rain when the "BlueBlockers" came out years ago. I've used some type of brown sunglasses every since for the same reason. I also use rainX on my bike and my truck.

My only problem in the rain now is trying to get around all those people that slow down less than half the speed limit because they can't see

I've tried RainX on two scoot windshields and have not had luck of any kind with it.....Wouldn't work at all at city speeds and even 50 or over I really couldn't say if it was helping.....Maybe I"m not doing it right....

Try it again!

Apply a bit with a soft cloth or paper towels. Allow it to dry 10-15 minutes then apply a second coat. Allow the second coat to dry 10-15 minutes and buff the windshield well with a clean dry cloth or paper towels, not the same one you applied the Rain-X. Apply it any other way and you might as well throw your money in the trash as to buy Rain-X.

[Papa]

I've tried RainX on two scoot windshields and have not had luck of any kind with it.....Wouldn't work at all at city speeds and even 50 or over I really couldn't say if it was helping.....Maybe I"m not doing it right...

Over on the Burgman site someone contacted RainX about using it on plastics. They said there are two kinds of plastic used windshields. One is a Polycarbonate and brittle and the other is something softer that I can't remember right now. Kinda like the difference between Lexan and Plexiglass I think. Anyway they said it was okay for the Polycarbonate or brittle plastic but not the softer one, so I tried it on mine. Worked great above 55mph, but below that the fairing design on my Burgman kept the wind from hitting the shield to blow off the beads. Even still, since it beaded up, it was easy to see through. I also put it on my flip up visor, that's were it really worked good!!

Papa

[Blaine]

I've tried RainX on two scoot windshields and have not had luck of any kind with it.....Wouldn't work at all at city speeds and even 50 or over I really couldn't say if it was helping.....Maybe I"m not doing it right...

Over on the Burgman site someone contacted RainX about using it on plastics. They said there are two kinds of plastic used windshields. One is a Polycarbonate and brittle and the other is something softer that I can't remember right now. Kinda like the difference between Lexan and Plexiglass I think. Anyway they said it was okay for the Polycarbonate or brittle plastic but not the softer one, so I tried it on mine. Worked great above 55mph, but below that the fairing design on my Burgman kept the wind from hitting the shield to blow off the beads. Even still, since it beaded up, it was easy to see through. I also put it on my flip up visor, that's were it really worked good!!

Papa

I had another thought (UhOh) I clean my Scoot Shield with Pledge (works GREAT), but I'll bet the Pledge does not mix properly with the RainX........

[AmBraCol]

I had another thought (UhOh) I clean my Scoot Shield with Pledge (works GREAT), but I'll bet the Pledge does not mix properly with the RainX........

There you go - some chemicals don't play well together...

[AmBraCol]

Paul,

Have you ever tried any of the wrap-around shades that will slip over a pair of glasses, or clip on sunglasses? That might be a solution to the problem.

Doc, I've never seen such a thing down here. We have oodles of eyeglass stores, but I've never seen anything what would work over my regular specs - and don't feel like spending the $$$$ on dedicated prescription shades. A while back I used contacts and used some decent shades as well, but then my eyes hit the "over forty" syndrome and so I went to progressive lenses.

[Papa]

I had another thought (UhOh) I clean my Scoot Shield with Pledge (works GREAT), but I'll bet the Pledge does not mix properly with the RainX........

I use Pledge too! On my whole bike as a matter of fact. I doesn't seem to have bothered the RainX, but I have some No Fog spray that I've tried, and either one will kill any affect it has. Since 95% of my driving is below 55mph and that's the speed that the air finally hit my shield, I haven't applied it in a couple of months. I do try to keep it on my face shield though

Papa

[madman4570]

AmBraCol,
Here is a Link to some! they run like $10-$15 If you cant get them there pm me tell what size your prescription frames/lenses are and heck dude I will buy you a set and send em to ya! "as a Halloween Gift" Every man needs a set of clip-ons that wears specs. See ya!


(Edited by AmBraCol to remove hyperlink)

Sorry 'bout that, but I was contacted by the company and they requested I remove their link. ???? Asinine, what can I say? Apparently they don't want any business from the likes of us. So, keep that in mind the next time you think "Sunglass Man" sunglasses.

[AmBraCol]

This is the weirdest thing I've seen in a while. Guess they don't want our business.

[Bruce Scott]

I wonder if it matters if they are the "polarized" type of sunglasses...?

According to Road Warrior columnist John Cichowski, only polarized sunglasses actually work in the rain.

http://www.northjersey.com/news/60514907.html

Snopes quote him in their article on the email.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/sunglasses.asp