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Originally Posted by blizzak
Okay, okay, i'll agree with you that there exist accidents which are unavoidable. You're wrong about hydroplaning though; it can be avoided by going slower. I think if that amount of rain was coming down I would be going slow enough to avoid hydroplaning because my visibility out of the windshield would be greatly reduced!
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Let me clarify where I'm coming from. I live in a state with a great amount of rain. The basic rule states that you must drive at a speed that is reasonable and cautious for existing conditions. Even if I am only going 30 mph, it is totally within the realm of possibility that I can hydroplane. Furthermore, hydroplaning doesn't always equal existing rain. It means that there is water on the roadway. That means I could be going a cautious 60 in a 65, hit standing water, and hydroplane. Visibility also doesn't always allow you to see just how much water is on the roadway at any one point. This happens frequently around these parts, as some of our roads (I-205 before the repaving comes to mind) are quite rutted and hold on to water well.
Furthermore, if you slowed down too much on a busy interstate like I-5, you would get pulled over by the state police. People here are quite capable of driving 70 mph in a blinding rainstorm (my family calls it "driving the submarine"), and the state police don't take too kindly to people holding up traffic by going 30 below what everyone else is clocking.
As for me talking down to you, it's rare that I get the chance, as young as I am. That said, I still believe you need to clock more experience behind the wheel before you can pass judgment on what is and isn't an accident. Driving, like most things in life, is not black and white. There are always lots of mitigating factors to take into consideration, and we can't always know what those factors were or are.