# Are California roads really all that much more slick after rain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 1, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095 "2014-04-01T16:29:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/21 "2014-04-02T06:19:59Z")
California drivers don’t know how to drive in rainy conditions, period. God help us all if Climate Change causes us to receive snow every winter. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/22 "2014-04-02T06:34:42Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > God help us all if Climate Change causes us to receive snow every winter. :eek: We do get snow every winter. We keep it in the mountains where it belongs. ---
**Author:** ![bahimes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bahimes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bahimes)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/23 "2014-04-02T12:09:14Z")
> [@anderson110](#): > > Agree. However, the degree to which it is emphasized seems unique to me after having lived in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Jersey, and spent time just about every where else in the nation. Florida is the worst! If two whole days go by without the rush hour showers, then it takes 2-3 times as long to get home, when it does rain. ---
**Author:** ![SanDiegoTim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@SanDiegoTim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanDiegoTim)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/24 "2014-04-02T13:06:35Z")
Before moving to San Diego about 25 years ago I lived in the Bay Area. In ten years up there I never heard much on this subject. In SD, however, it’s just the opposite. Come the rains, and based upon the news coverage, you’d think the freeways were covered with black ice. Bunch of rookie drivers out here. Love to take 'em to Chicago in January. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/25 "2014-04-02T15:56:01Z")
I just heard on the radio that there are six accidents on local freeways. Two are four car pile-ups, one is a three car and the other three are just two cars. I see way too many idiots who think they are race car drivers and that rain makes the road stickier. Speeding and weaving in and out of traffic like the other cars don’t exist. On the way home from work last night it was lightly raining and this idiot in a BMW merged onto the freeway behind me and decided I wasn’t going fast enough because the speed limit is too slow and laws don’t apply to him so he changed lanes and then changed back right in front of me. Then he decided the car now in front of him was going too slow so he changed lanes again and then right back in fron of that guy. Then he did it again to the next car. Then after a few minutes he finally wisened up and moved two lanes over to the fast lane and then zoomed out of sight. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/26 "2014-04-02T20:08:27Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > California drivers don’t know how to drive in rainy conditions, period. > > God help us all if Climate Change causes us to receive snow every winter. :eek: I still have my snow shovels from when I lived in New Jersey, so I’m set. It would be great - so many idiots would wreck their cars that traffic would be good for months afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/27 "2014-04-02T20:26:49Z")
> [@Punoqllads](#): > > Driving in rain is significantly more difficult than driving in snow What is this I don’t even… ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/28 "2014-04-02T20:29:23Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I just heard on the radio that there are six accidents on local freeways. Two are four car pile-ups, one is a three car and the other three are just two cars. There were [two big-rig pile-ups in Pasadena this week](http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-big-rig-crashes-pasadena-20140402,0,7549337.story#axzz2xkazxklu), exact same location, 24 hours apart. Luckily, no one was severely hurt. And this wasn’t even the first rain of the season – just the first rain in a month or so. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/29 "2014-04-02T20:29:56Z")
> [@Randolph](#): > > What is this I don’t even… Brainfart. I meant less. Self-edited in the middle of the post and missed that. ---
**Author:** ![Patch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Patch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patch)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/30 "2014-04-03T00:35:58Z")
> [@anderson110](#): > > Is there any objective data on this? Not that I’m aware of, and I deal with highway safety issues in California. Our pavement designs are nothing special, and if there were structural issues with our designs not performing well when wet, we’d know about it. It’s not like we’ve never skid tested our pavements before. What I’ve noticed in my travels is California drivers are aggressive and drive fast. Combined with the weather factors mentioned above, it’s a bad combination. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095/31 "2014-04-03T01:42:54Z")
When I was a motorcyclist, the word was to park the bike when it began to rain. Wait until it had rained for 30 minutes, then proceed. Apparently it is safer after the road has been douched. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-california-roads-really-all-that-much-more-slick-after-rain/685095.md?page=1)