Story:
Excellent Driving Tip:
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago. 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 Police Officer what had happened, he told her something that every driver should know –
NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN 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 Police Officer told her that if the cruise control is on, your car will begin to hydro-plane when the tyres lose contact with the road, and your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an aeroplane. She told the Officer that was exactly what had occurred. The Officer 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,
Along with the airbag warning. We tell our 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 Officer), was a man who’d had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries..
NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.
Share It Plz! It Can save others Life!
Other Versions
I had a wreck a couple of weeks ago and totaled our Lincoln Town Car. I hydroplaned on Hwy 135 between Gladewater & Kilgore, Texas. I was not hurt, just emotionally rattled! I know the Lord was with me.
I learned a lesson I’d like to pass on to you. You may know this already- but the highway patrolman told me that you should never drive in the rain with your cruise control on. He said if you did and hydroplaned (which I did) that when your tires were off the road your car would accelerate to a high rate of speed (which it did). You don’t have much, if any control when you hydroplane, but you are totally in the hands of God when the car accelerates. I took off like I was in an airplane. I’m so thankful I made it through that ordeal. Please pass the word around about not using cruise control when the pavement is wet or icy. The highway patrolman said this should be on the sun-visor with the warning about air-bags.
The only person I’ve found out who knew this (besides the patrolman) was a man who had a similar accident and totaled his car. This has made me wonder if this is not why so many of our young people are dying in accidents.”
Be careful out there!
Analysis:
These are the messages circulating through emails and social networking platforms since many years, warning drivers not to use Cruise Control in the rain. It is said that using cruise control in wet road conditions like rain can hydroplane the vehicle and accelerate it through the air, taking off like an aeroplane. The warning is exaggerated, but there is a grain of fact in it.
About Cruise Control
Cruise control, also called speed control, autocruise, or tempomat is a device technology in a motor vehicle that can be switched on to maintain a selected constant speed without the use of the accelerator pedal. This can make long drives easy for the drivers, also saving lot of money in gas and speeding tickets, but cruise control can have a down side too. Some people who rely on cruise control too much may neglect to pay full attention on their road drive, and this can cause troubles when not driving in normal road conditions. This is the reason why the drivers are warned not to use the cruise control in the city, heavy traffic, wet or slippery conditions, or where braking and/or lower speeds are required to negotiate bends.
About the Claims
These warnings about cruise control in wet conditions started circulating through emails since at least 2002. The incidents mentioned there are perhaps real, in the sense that the drivers are trying to share their concerns and warn people, but the mechanism of cruise control seems to be misunderstood and so the warnings are exaggerated.
Rain presents two distinct dangers to a driver. After a dry spell of rain for any period, accumulated oil, grease, and dirt on the road can create extremely slippery conditions. In this case, the traction is reduced that may cause the wheels to slip and accelerate in uncontrolled ways. The second case is the hydroplaning, i.e. aquaplaning, which can occur in heavy rains when water stands on the road. As layer of water builds between the wheels of the vehicle and the road surface, it leads to loss of traction that prevents the vehicle from responding to control inputs. When this happens, the wheels can actually rise up on top of the water and glide like water skis. The higher the speed, the greater is the chance of hydroplaning.
However, the change in wheel speeds in such conditions would be sensed by the intelligent cruise control system and would adjust the amount of throttle to maintain the set speed. The cruise control system is deactivated as soon as the brake is applied. Because of this variation of speeds, the driver can sometimes lose control on his vehicle and end up in an accident. This is the reason why drivers are warned in first place, not to use cruise control in wet conditions. Note that the conventional cruise control systems do not have this automatic speed adjustment and the driver has to monitor and apply brakes where necessary. But as described in the messages, using cruise control will not cause you to speed up your vehicle in wet conditions. Wet-road driving is prone to dangers, be it cruise or no cruise.
Driving in the rain requires heightened awareness, so it is better not to use your cruise control and save it for fair weather. And whenever you are using it, make sure you set it at a legal, safe speed, considering the roadway and the current driving conditions.
Hoax or Fact:
Partially Fact.
References:
Hazards of Driving in the Rain with Cruise Control
Cruise Control Driving
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