According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), the light rain in San Joaquin Valley has led to several motor vehicle crashes.

Aside from a head-on collision in Highway 168 at Prather at noon, the CHP also responded to an injury crash on southbound Highway 41 south of Herndon Avenue at 1PM and a two-vehicle crash caused by a dog on Highway 180 at Fulton Avenue.

The latter accident allegedly occurred when the two drivers tried to avoid hitting the dog and ended up skidding on the rain-slicked road. The two drivers suffered minor injuries and the runaway dog was uninjured and reported to the California Humane Society.

Elsewhere, in Missoula, Montana, icy conditions caused by overnight freezing rain caused nearly 20 car accidents, majority of which were single car crashes where several vehicles slid off the road.

Driving under the extreme weather conditions (heavy rain, snow storm, etc) is one of the many causes of a car crash accident. Rain in particularly, can cause car accidents even if the driver is driving below the posted speed limit.

According to the California Driver’s Handbook of 2009, roads are at their most slippery usually when it first starts to rain or snow because the oil and dust have not been washed away yet.

In order to drive safely under the conditions and avoid liability for any injury or death unintentionally caused by a car accident, here are a few tips on how to drive in the rain:

• Slow down at the first sign of rain or snow on the road. Driving slower would increase your tires’ traction on the road surface so you would be less likely to skid or slip even if there is oil or grease.

• Turn on your windshield wipers, headlights, and defroster. This will help increase your visibility even if the rain or snow is falling down heavily.

• If your windows fog up, if you don’t have a de-fog function in your car, keep your air conditioning blowing at both your windshield and your back window.

• Do not make any sudden or sharp brakes. This will cause you to lose traction and control of the vehicle.

• If visibility is really bad or you cannot see more than 100 feet ahead, do not drive more than 30 mph. Driving slower would also increase your chances of a better reaction time in case the vehicle ahead of you would suddenly stall or stop.