Hydroplaning

“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.” - Irish Blessing

A friend sent me the following email. I checked it out on Urban Legends and they concluded that while the account may be fictional, the recommendation is valid.

A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. 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 highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN [or Snow or Ice] 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 highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane.

Bottom Line

These other websites agree - only use cruise control on dry pavement!

http://hp.state.sd.us/deskof/hp58.htm South Dakota Highway Patrol

http://www.buckeyelakebeacon.net/news/2009/0110/news/020.html Ohio Dept of Transportation

http://www.icbc.com/road_safety/pdf/ts367.pdf Insurance Corporation of British Columbia