A recent incident in the USA has highlighted the dangers of using a vehicle’s cruise control function in wet weather.
A woman wrote off her car after the cruise control caused it to aquaplane and fly off the road. Luckily she wasn’t seriously injured, but it was a salutary lesson for her and other drivers.
“When you use cruise control in heavy rain, there is a possibility of aquaplaning,” said a spokesman for Workplace Driving, which helps business owners and health and safety executives develop robust at-work driving policies. “The tyre can’t clear enough water through its tread and, in effect, rides on top of a film of water. This is most likely to happen at higher speeds and when tyres are worn.”
Workplace Driving are now advising companies to warn staff about the risks of using cruise control when it’s raining, and to build such advice into their vehicle policy statements.
Aquaplaning causes the driver to lose steering control. Tyre noise will disappear and the engine revs will naturally rise because there is no resistance between the tyres and the road. The usual remedy is to gently decelerate without braking and keep a gentle, firm, grip on the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the cruise control function will do the opposite, increasing its revs to try and maintain speed.
Most drivers resort to the brakes, which disengages the cruise control, but engages the ABS, reducing the chances of regaining control of the vehicle. Few have the presence of mind simply to switch off the cruise control manually.
Aquaplaning may be a relatively rare occurrence, but it’s nonetheless serious, and there are precautions which can reduce the risk of it happening.