{"id":432333,"date":"2025-12-08T02:50:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/432333\/"},"modified":"2025-12-08T02:50:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T02:50:11","slug":"safety-experts-share-reminder-of-increased-crash-risk-as-jacksonville-sees-heavy-rainfall-after-lengthy-dry-spell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/432333\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety experts share reminder of increased crash risk as Jacksonville sees heavy rainfall after lengthy dry spell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>JACKSONVILLE, Fla.<\/strong> \u2013 After an extended dry period, Jacksonville\u2019s recent heavy rainfall has created hazardous driving conditions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Several crashes have happened over the span of the last two days, although we don\u2019t know the exact cause of the collisions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/traffic\/2025\/12\/07\/woman-dies-when-car-slams-into-back-of-her-suv-causing-chain-reaction-pile-up-on-jtb-fhp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.news4jax.com\/traffic\/2025\/12\/07\/woman-dies-when-car-slams-into-back-of-her-suv-causing-chain-reaction-pile-up-on-jtb-fhp\/\">A woman died Saturday night when a driver lost control of their vehicle and slammed into the back of her SUV on JTB westbound<\/a>, near Belfort Road, pushing her vehicle into two other cars.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">While the exact cause remains under investigation, the incident occurred during intermittent rainfall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Then, overnight, the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office shut down Argyle Forest Boulevard at Old Middleburg Road South from another crash. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">And Sunday evening, another crash forced authorities to close two eastbound lanes on JTB.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWhen it starts raining, people seem to just forget all things that they need to think about,\u201d said Tom Hackney, News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst. \u201cWe saw that crash on JTB last night. That was a fatality, it\u2019s horrible&#8230; you have to leave distance between the car in front of you and yourself because you just don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>Vehicle maintenance critical<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hackney, drawing from his experience with the Jacksonville Sheriff\u2019s Office, emphasizes that proper vehicle maintenance is crucial for safe driving in wet conditions. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">He specifically points to three key areas drivers should monitor:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Windshield wipers:<\/b> \u201cYou don\u2019t think about those when it\u2019s dry out, but when it starts raining, if those aren\u2019t in good shape, you\u2019re limiting your visibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Tires:<\/b> \u201cYou see a lot of people who don\u2019t have good tires. That\u2019s really crucial for moving water out from underneath your tires. You get hydroplaning&#8230; you add speed and water and bad tires, limited visibility. All these things come together.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p><b>Brakes:<\/b> Regular brake maintenance is essential for safe stopping distances in wet conditions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Safety tips for driving in rain<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Safety experts recommend several precautions for driving in wet weather:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Reduce speed during rainfall<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Maintain extra following distance from other vehicles<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>If possible, avoid driving during heavy rain events<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\">\n<p>Don\u2019t pull over on highway shoulders during storms<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Regarding emergency stops, Hackney advises against pulling onto highway shoulders during heavy rain, as reduced visibility makes this practice dangerous. <\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Instead, drivers should exit the highway and find a safe location like a parking lot or side street to wait out severe weather.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 After an extended dry period, Jacksonville\u2019s recent heavy rainfall has created hazardous driving conditions. Several&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":432334,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5136],"tags":[5229,3188,723,7310,8152,314,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-432333","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-jacksonville","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-fl","10":"tag-florida","11":"tag-jacksonville","12":"tag-safety","13":"tag-traffic","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115681678089467950","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432333","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432333"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432333\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432333"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432333"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432333"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}