May 7, 2009
Never Drive In Heavy Rain With Your Cruise Control On!
A Safety Story From Down Under!
A 36-year-old female had an accident several weeks ago and totalled her car.
A resident of Wollongong, NSW, she was travelling between Wollongong &
Sydney. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began
to hydroplane and literally flew through the air.
She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!
When she explained to the policeman what had happened, he told her something
that every driver should know -
She had thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and
maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain. But the policeman told her
that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane – when
your tyres lose contact with the road, your car will accelerate to a higher
rate of speed and you take off like an airplane. She told the policeman that
was exactly what had occurred.
The policeman estimated her car was actually travelling through the air at
10 to 15 Km’s per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise control.
The policeman 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!
Australia tells 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
policeman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totalled his car and
sustained severe injuries.
Filed under cars by admin
Comments on Never Drive In Heavy Rain With Your Cruise Control On! »
While this is very true in some ways there is an element of embellishment by the tellers of this story which has been around since 2001 or earlier. It makes it smack of untruths which might make people heed the warning less.
Some facts:
All vehicles can hydro plane and slip in dangerous weather whether in cruise or not. When in cruise control your vehicle can accelerate in a slide and speed up if you do not tap the brake immediately to turn off cruise control.
Yes it is true slippery and wet conditions are worse in cruise control because YOU need to be in control and people get complacent with cruise and tend to be less alert when automated cruising.
Hydroplaning will not make you “fly” like a plane unless you are going over a cliff. You will accelerate forward faster though, which is scary enough.
Look up hydroplaning and physics for more on what hydro planing actually is.