Never drive in the rain with your cruise control on.

[black as]

NEVER KNEW THIS BEFORE

I wonder how many people know about this?

A 36-year-old female had an accident several weeks ago and totalled her car. A resident of Wollongong , NSW,
she was traveling between Wollongong and 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 -
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 policeman told her that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane --
when your tyres 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 policeman that was exactly what had occurred.

The policeman estimated her car was actually traveling through the air at 10 to 15 kms 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 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 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, totaled his car
and sustained severe injuries

[BXHD]

wowzaz thats scary.

[old mate]

i've always wondered what happens when you aqua plane with the cruise on, now i know. not that i have cruise control, but its a good thing to have in the back of your mind.

[HoZy]

Thats actually not entirely true, because the Car will only travel at the limits within what is set for cruise control, The only downside of cruise control in the rain is that if you do hydroplane an you are not used to your car or the consequences linked with it you will not think to tap the brake or turn cruise off to attempt to regain control of your vehicle therefore you will have an accident. from traveling at the designated speed without control so coincidently sliding in whatever direction you end up in at the speed you were going at, +-10km/h...

The Police officer obviously attempted to earn browny points...

But the moral of the story, CruiseControl will not aid or provoke hydroplaining...

Cheers
MaT

[Lorne Mauer]

Urban Myth.
its been busted.

[Reaper]

1. if the car looses traction (which is what happens during aquaplaning) how does it manage to accellerate?
2. unless it bounces off something, how does it manage to fly thru the air?
3. If the car is going to aquaplane at a given speed it would not matter if cc was engaged or not.

Reaper

[Jesterarts]

Yeah, unless her 'cruise control' was a brick on the accelerator, someone has been telling porkies.

When you start to aqua plane... you've lost traction with the road... so you have lost drive... only way for the car to accelerate at this point is either gravity down a hill or magic.

It is dangerous to drive with cruise control on and traction control off. Because then cruise control will remain on and will be trying to keep the wheels going a constant speed. So unless you tap the brakes to disengage it will keep spinning the wheels and make it very hard to regain control of the car.

[alien]

I drive in the rain with cruise control on all the time. Never had any problems when it's been on.

The way cruise control works is by checking the speed and comparing it to what cruise is set at and adjusting the throttle accordingly. Thus, is your wheels start spinning faster your speed goes up (same when you do a burnout) and it reaches the speed quicker where it limits the throttle. There is no way for a properly working cruise control module to put you over the speed limit even when there is no traction, unless it's on a down hill slope.

[Vee-ard]

when you start to aqua plane... You've lost tracion with the road... So you have lost drive... Only way for the car to accelerate at this point is either gravity down a hill or magic.

/end thread

[minux]

I want to know why police are suggesting to not use cruise on wet and icy pavements? Surely it is safer to stay off the footpaths?

Sounds like an American story twisted to suit Australia. Still trying to work out how exactly a car accelerates magically because cruise is set when aquaplaning...not like the wheels can spin any faster.

[STEALTHY™]

Myth already busted. And that story does the rounds every year or so. That bitch is a real shit driver if its happened to her 5 years in a row, at roughly the same time.

[black as]

Myth already busted. And that story does the rounds every year or so. That bitch is a real shit driver if its happened to her 5 years in a row, at roughly the same time.

So what's the bottom line?
The narrow margins applied in enforcing Australian speed limits dictate you should assess whether your use of cruise control is governed more by your need to protect your license than safe-driving practices. Some speed limits may be too high under certain weather conditions while in others, your direct communication with all the car’s controls may be more critical than sitting back with the cruise control on.

Consider some of the following issues and actions when you next engage cruise control...

* If you feel yourself disengaging from driving as the cruise control engages, devise strategies to stay alert so you are ready to deal with whatever happens.

* Minimise the chances of aquaplaning by keeping tyres fresh and backed by regular wheel alignments. Make sure that the shock absorbers/dampers are in serviceable condition so they can punch the tyres back onto the road as soon as they are disturbed by a bump.

* Practise using the Cancel function or equivalent button to disengage cruise control so that you don’t initiate a violent loss of control by hitting the brakes.

* Never engage cruise control on a road where you would normally have to slow down for a bend. If you can feel the car starting to get out of shape under cruise control, hit the Cancel button and have your foot hovering over the accelerator to smooth out any reduction in engine power. Most cars end up in trouble when braking or deceleration/acceleration is too sudden or too sharp.

* If the roads are wet, don't use cruise control. This is a no-brainer when wet weather driving requires constant and gentle speed adjustments by carefully modulating the accelerator, not sudden brake applications.

* While using cruise control, always have your feet in such a position so you know exactly where each pedal is relative to your right foot.

* Anticipate downhill situations by disengaging the cruise control via the Cancel function not the brakes and taking over before it speeds up.

* If you feel a lightness of steering when your car hits a puddle this is an advance warning of aquaplaning. Turn off the cruise control and back off on the accelerator immediately.

* In winter in the colder parts of the country anticipate early morning or late evening situations where black ice may have formed. Again, hitting the brakes to disengage cruise control will be too late once you hit ice so don't engage cruise control at all in these conditions.

Prepared from discussions with Holden Special Vehicles Powertrain Engineer, Sam Davis.

[STEALTHY™]

Didn't bother reading that.

Myth was busted.......