Why You Should Be Careful Driving in the Rain.

For those of you who do not know, here in Southern California, we have recently experienced a deluge of rain. I personally love the rain; however, in excessive amounts, the water can become dangerous. Just a little while ago, the small community of Montecito, only a few miles north of my hometown of Ventura, was forced to evacuate because of the winter storms.

 I, myself, experienced a weather-related incident just the other day. Just as an aside, my foibles with the rain were, of course, nothing compared to those of the communities that were heavily impacted by the storms.

 While driving back from a medical appointment the other day, I surprisingly encountered a huge body of water that had been percolating on the street due to the storms. It was so deep that I was concerned that I would hydroplane, or that the engine would become immersed in water, rendering the car inoperable.

 Fortunately, neither of these outcomes ended up occurring. However, the large water puddle concealed the actual contents of the street, so much so that, without observing anything, I suddenly heard a loud scraping sound. Cringing, I pulled over, and found out that a large portion of the skid plate under my car had become loose and was dangling precariously above the ground.

 I immediately became extremely anxious. Car-related troubles are a major fear of mine. My mind leaped to conclusions, such as, “what if the damage is so bad that a body shop may take weeks to repair it?” or, “how much is this going to cost me?” I spent the next 48 hours in a state confusion and dismay.

 Luckily, after the weekend had passed, I was able to make an appointment with a local service center. In my quest for answers, I made sure to get there early.

 I left Pep Boys in a much happier state than the state I was previously in. Fortunately, it turned out that the damage to my car was minor, and it only took them like fifteen minutes to repair it. They charged me nothing.

 The primary lesson I learned from all this is that, when a crisis—your worst-case scenario—occurs, the actual pain caused is only theoretically as bad as you allow it to be.

 Also, it often can be expedient to avoid driving in the rain.