CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) - The South Carolina Highway Patrol says wet weather and inattentive drivers caused 42 vehicles to crash in 11 separate accidents on I-26 Monday, injuring more than a dozen people.

Rob Grimsley is a law enforcement officer. He’s also a driving instructor for 911 Driving School. Grimsley says it’s common to see an increase of accidents during rainy weather.

"It’s a big problem. When the roads start getting wet, they’re going to easily double. People need to learn you can’t drive the same as when the roads are dry versus when you have some type of inclement weather,“ Grimsley said.

He says drivers should fine tune their defensive driving skills, so they will know how to drive in inclement weather. He says drivers have to change the way they would normally drive.

“Make yourself a better driver in the rain. Scanning, 12 seconds out, 12 seconds back. That means you’re looking down the roadway as far as you can see, and working it back. Decrease your speed. Increase your following distance,“ Grimsley said.

Drivers should also obey the three second following rule.

“What that means is you’re following a car, when that car gets to a fixed object then you count one thousand one, one thousand two one thousand three, and at one thousand three, the front of your car should be getting at that same fixed object that you saw. So when it comes to inclement weather, you may want to increase that to four or five seconds depending on what the weather is like," Grimsley said.

Grimsley says if the roads are wet, wait a while before you head out. Roads are slickest the first 20 minutes after the rain. Check your tires before you head out, and slow down.

“When you drive through inclement weather, you realize just because the speed limit says one thing, the environment dictates what you can actually do. You have to realize that if it’s raining or the weather is inclement, you need to decrease your speed and increase your following distance," Grimsley said.

Sixteen people received minor injuries in the chain of accidents. The Highway Patrol is still investigating the multiple collisions.

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