I received the following information this morning in an email that is currently doing the rounds and thought I'd pass it on for forum members' consideration as, if correct, it might help avoid an accident.

SAFE-DRIVING TIPS WHEN IT IS RAINING.

GOOD VISION IN A DOWNPOUR
We are not sure why it is so effective; just try this method when it rains
heavily. This method was told by a Police friend who had experienced
and confirmed it. It is useful...even driving at night.

Most of the motorists would turn on HIGH or FASTEST SPEED of the wipers
during heavy downpour, yet the visibility in front of the windshield is
still bad........
In the event you face such a situation, just put on your SUNGLASSES
and miracles! All of a sudden, your visibility in front of your windshield is perfectly clear, as if there is no rain.

Make sure you always have a pair of SUNGLASSES in your car. You are not
only helping yourself to drive safely with good vision, but also might
save your friend's life by giving him this idea.. Try it yourself and
share it with your friends.

Amazingly, you still see the drops on the windshield, but not the sheet
of rain falling. You can see where the rain bounces off the road. It
works to eliminate the "blindness" from passing cars. Or the "kickup"
if you are following a car in the rain.

They ought to teach this little tip in driver's training.. It really
does work. This is a good warning. I wonder how many people knew about
this?

Another good tip:
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago. It was raining,
though not excessively when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and
literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very
stunned at the sudden occurrence! When she explained to the Police
Officer what had happened, he told her something that every driver
should know -

NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON.

She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and
maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain...

But the Police Officer told her that if the cruise control is on, your
car will begin to hydro-plane when the tyres lose contact with the
road, and your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you
take off like an aeroplane. She told the Officer that was exactly what
had occurred.

The Officer said this warning should be listed, on the
driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE ROAD IS
WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set
the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to
use the cruise control only when the road is dry.

The only person the accident victim found who knew this, (besides the
Officer), was a man who'd had a similar accident, totalled his car and
sustained severe injuries.

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow
you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on."

If anyone gets a chance to try out the sunglasses trick, perhaps they'd report back. Does it work?