Hydroplaning vehicles in wet conditions can create killer conditions.
A 36-year-old woman was travelling between Wollongong & Sydney, in wet conditions and became involved in an accident that wiped out her car. Her car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air. She was not badly injured, but very stunned by what had happened. The wet conditions were not excessive.
When she gave details to a policeman, he told her what every driver should know – Never drive in the rain with cruise control on.
The woman had thought she was being extra careful by using the cruise control to maintain a safe constant speed in the rain. The policeman advised her that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane - when your tyres lose contact with the road, the car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and literally take off like an aeroplane.
Hydroplaning accidents, also called planing, or aquaplaning, are caused when a driver loses steering control, as a layer of water on the road prevents direct contact between the tyres and the surface of the road. The resulting loss of friction causes the vehicle to lose braking, steering and power to the wheels creating a complete loss of control by the driver. The vehicle goes into a skid until it collides with something else, or friction between the road and wheels is regained. Hydroplaning risks can occur when there is deep water, or heavy rain, speeding, imbalance through an overloaded vehicle and poor tyre maintenance-
The policeman at the scene, believed the woman’s car was travelling through the air at 10 to 15 kms per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise control.
The policeman firmly believes every vehicle should carry a warning on the driver's seat sunvisor, alongside the airbag warning. No one is instructed to only use the cruise control when the road is dry.
The only person the accident victim found, who understood this (besides the policeman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries. Passing this message on could save a life.
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