Driving in the rain: What you need to keep in mind

Slow down, turn on your lights and allow more space among cars are obvious things to do when it rains.
But also consider that on dry roads, with new tires, you only have tread about the size of your palm on the road for each tire. That area of traction gets dramatically smaller with the amount of rain on the road and the speed you are traveling.
At 50 mph, a new tire, on a wet road can have its traction area reduced by more than 40 percent. At higher speeds, your tires might only have about 10 p