Never Use The Cruise Control When The Pavement Is Wet Or Icy
02-10-07, 11:07 PM
#1
Never Use The Cruise Control When The Pavement Is Wet Or Icy
I got this in the email.
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car.
>A resident of Oakville, Ontario she was traveling between Oakville and
>Hamilton. 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 WITH
>YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON. She had 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 and your
>car begins to hydro-plane when your tires lose contact with the pavement,
>your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed, and you take off like
>an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.
>
>The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat
>sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT 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 pavement is dry.
>
>The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the
>patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and
>sustained severe injuries.
>
>NOTE: Some vehicles when the windshield wipers are on, you cannot set the
>cruise control. The Toyota Sienna Limited XLE is one of them.
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car.
>A resident of Oakville, Ontario she was traveling between Oakville and
>Hamilton. 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 WITH
>YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON. She had 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 and your
>car begins to hydro-plane when your tires lose contact with the pavement,
>your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed, and you take off like
>an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.
>
>The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat
>sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT 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 pavement is dry.
>
>The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the
>patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and
>sustained severe injuries.
>
>NOTE: Some vehicles when the windshield wipers are on, you cannot set the
>cruise control. The Toyota Sienna Limited XLE is one of them.
02-10-07, 11:33 PM
#4
Something about that sounds fishy. Why would your wheels start spinning faster and cause you're car to fly? Can someone please explain this to me as i am finding this hard to understand how thats possible? I mean i've seen videos of cars being lifted off the ground, but they were extremely lightwieght, low profile, and going much much faster than this womans car, so i'm somewhat skeptical of this occuring. Again an logical explanation would be appreciated.
02-10-07, 11:49 PM
#7
Only reason I knew about this is because my parents warned me about it when I started driving. It really does make sense. Cruise control is set up to keep the drive wheels spinning at a constant speed, and if you hydroplane then your car slows down but your tires would continue spinning at the same speed. I could see newer cars with traction control having built in countermeasures to this, but I still wouldn't trust it.
Trending Topics
02-11-07, 08:35 PM
#11
This I knew and I've been telling people.
The thing is that it the car will think it's slowing down so it'll accelerate. TRAC won't help since the tyres are NOT slipping (so to speak). IOW, it'll accelerate, spin the wheels while you hydroplane and TRAC won't have a clue that you're hydroplaning.
The thing is that it the car will think it's slowing down so it'll accelerate. TRAC won't help since the tyres are NOT slipping (so to speak). IOW, it'll accelerate, spin the wheels while you hydroplane and TRAC won't have a clue that you're hydroplaning.
02-12-07, 04:59 AM
#12
This I knew and I've been telling people.
The thing is that it the car will think it's slowing down so it'll accelerate. TRAC won't help since the tyres are NOT slipping (so to speak). IOW, it'll accelerate, spin the wheels while you hydroplane and TRAC won't have a clue that you're hydroplaning.
The thing is that it the car will think it's slowing down so it'll accelerate. TRAC won't help since the tyres are NOT slipping (so to speak). IOW, it'll accelerate, spin the wheels while you hydroplane and TRAC won't have a clue that you're hydroplaning.
TRAC knows when your tires are not on the pavement. If the throttle is opened up and the tires are not hooking to the ground, TRAC will bump in.
Hydroplaning is when your car rides on water thus not getting traction, the car decelerates because you're not actually pushing against anything (pavement). And once you start to gain traction again, your wheels are spinning alot faster than they once were, therefore causing a car to launch foward. Usually this happens with just 1 or two wheels instead of all 4. In fact most of the time the wheels are not getting all the same amount of traction, so you usually go sideways and swerve all over the road.
Now if TRAC sees that you're not really going anywhere and you should be because your tires are spinning like a bat out of hell than it'll cut in and say "excuse me, you're about to die, let me help."
02-12-07, 05:35 AM
#13
Lexus Champion
Join Date: May 2006
Location: FL
Posts: 1,600
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This urban legend (and email) has been floating around for years. Your car will not suddenly fly through the air if you hydroplane with the CC on. That's a load of BS.
The reason you shouldn't use CC on wet or icy roads is because you're not in full control of your car, and the reaction time to hit the brake (or clutch pedal) and disengage CC is much slower than if you were modulating the speed with the gas pedal all along. You begin hydroplaning, and you need to get off the gas quickly to slow the vehicle's speed as fast a possible.
The person that started the hydroplane email probably did get into an accident when she was using the CC in the rain, and lost control of her car while hydroplaning, but mis-interpreted what actually happened. Your car will not take off like a airplane.
The reason you shouldn't use CC on wet or icy roads is because you're not in full control of your car, and the reaction time to hit the brake (or clutch pedal) and disengage CC is much slower than if you were modulating the speed with the gas pedal all along. You begin hydroplaning, and you need to get off the gas quickly to slow the vehicle's speed as fast a possible.
The person that started the hydroplane email probably did get into an accident when she was using the CC in the rain, and lost control of her car while hydroplaning, but mis-interpreted what actually happened. Your car will not take off like a airplane.
02-12-07, 06:43 AM
#14
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: MD
Posts: 1,509
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This urban legend (and email) has been floating around for years. Your car will not suddenly fly through the air if you hydroplane with the CC on. That's a load of BS.
The reason you shouldn't use CC on wet or icy roads is because you're not in full control of your car, and the reaction time to hit the brake (or clutch pedal) and disengage CC is much slower than if you were modulating the speed with the gas pedal all along. You begin hydroplaning, and you need to get off the gas quickly to slow the vehicle's speed as fast a possible.
The person that started the hydroplane email probably did get into an accident when she was using the CC in the rain, and lost control of her car while hydroplaning, but mis-interpreted what actually happened. Your car will not take off like a airplane.
The reason you shouldn't use CC on wet or icy roads is because you're not in full control of your car, and the reaction time to hit the brake (or clutch pedal) and disengage CC is much slower than if you were modulating the speed with the gas pedal all along. You begin hydroplaning, and you need to get off the gas quickly to slow the vehicle's speed as fast a possible.
The person that started the hydroplane email probably did get into an accident when she was using the CC in the rain, and lost control of her car while hydroplaning, but mis-interpreted what actually happened. Your car will not take off like a airplane.
02-12-07, 07:56 AM
#15
Out of Warranty
Your car will not accelerate when on cruise control at a constant speed - whether you run into a puddle or not. Your cruise is seeking to maintain wheel speed and will not by itself suddenly launch you into the shrubbery, but actually attempt to keep the vehicle moving at a constant pace. If drag causes the car to slow, the cruise control may kick in to return wheel speed to its setpoint.
As others have said though, it's not a good idea to use your cruise control on a slick road of any kind. YOU are in charge of the vehicle and should lift and slow gently to a controllable speed if you get into a slick patch.
As others have said though, it's not a good idea to use your cruise control on a slick road of any kind. YOU are in charge of the vehicle and should lift and slow gently to a controllable speed if you get into a slick patch.