Category: Driving

There is nothing quite like the sudden jolt of adrenaline you feel when your car loses contact with the road. One minute you are driving through a heavy downpour, and the next, your steering wheel feels completely weightless. This terrifying phenomenon is known as hydroplaning, and it happens when a layer of water builds up between your tires and the pavement, causing you to lose traction and slide. When this happens, you are no longer driving your vehicle but skimming across a lake on a set of four rubber blocks. If you ever find yourself in a crash because of severe weather, the Bob Katz Law car accident lawyers can help you navigate the aftermath. Fortunately, with some basic maintenance and smart habits, you can keep your car firmly planted on the asphalt.

Check Your Tires Before the Storm Hits

Your tires are the only things connecting your vehicle to the ground, making them your absolute best defense against hydroplaning. Tires are engineered with deep grooves that channel water away from the center of the tire, allowing it to maintain direct contact with the road surface.

As your tires wear down, those vital grooves become shallow. If your tread depth is too low, the water has nowhere to go, and your car will lift right off the ground. You can check your tread depth easily with a simple penny test. Insert a penny into your tire tread with Abraham Lincoln’s head facing down. If you can see the top of his head, your tread is dangerously low, and it is time for a new set of tires.

In addition to tread depth, tire pressure plays a massive role in safety. Underinflated tires are soft and tend to cup inward, trapping water beneath the center of the tire. Check your tire pressure at least once a month, and always stick to the recommended numbers on the sticker inside your driver ‘s-side door.

Adjust Your Driving Habits in the Rain

Even if you have brand new tires, you still need to change how you drive the moment the clouds open up. The single most important rule of wet-weather driving is to slow down. Hydroplaning can happen at speeds as low as thirty-five miles per hour, and your chances of sliding skyrocket as your speedometer climbs.

You also need to give the cars ahead of you plenty of space. It takes significantly longer to stop on a wet road than it does on a dry one. By doubling your normal following distance, you give yourself a massive safety cushion if the driver in front of you suddenly slams on their brakes.

Another major hazard is cruise control. While cruise control is great for long road trips on sunny days, using it in the rain is incredibly dangerous. If your car begins to hydroplane while cruise control is active, the system may interpret the loss of traction as a sign that the vehicle is slowing down. It will then pump more gas into the engine, causing your tires to spin even faster and sending you into a dangerous spin.

Scan the Road for Danger Zones

Safe driving requires you to look well ahead of your front bumper so you can spot hazards before you reach them. Water tends to accumulate in specific areas on the highway, and knowing where these pools form can save your life.

Look out for the outer lanes of the highway. Because roads are usually built with a slight crown in the center to help water drain to the sides, the far-left and far-right lanes often have the deepest puddles. Try to stay in the center lanes whenever it is safe to do so.

You should also watch out for visible reflections on the pavement. If the road ahead looks like a mirror, that means standing water is present. Try to drive directly in the tracks of the vehicle ahead of you. The tires of the car in front of you act like a plow, temporarily displacing the water and leaving a drier path for your own tires to grip.

How to React If You Start to Slide

If you do everything right and still feel your car start to fishtail, the absolute worst thing you can do is panic. Your natural instinct will be to slam on the brakes and jerk the steering wheel in the opposite direction, but doing this will cause you to lose complete control of the vehicle.

Instead, remain calm and take your foot completely off the gas pedal. Do not stomp on the brakes. If you have an older car without an anti-lock braking system, pump the brakes gently. If your car has modern anti-lock brakes, you can apply steady pressure, but letting off the gas is usually enough to slow the car down and allow the tires to regain contact with the road. Keep your steering wheel straight and wait for the tires to bite into the pavement again.

Final Word

Hydroplaning happens in the blink of an eye. Staying safe in wet weather is not impossible and can be entirely within your control. By keeping your tires properly inflated, checking your tread depth, and adjusting your speed to match the road conditions, you can significantly lower your risk of a scary weather accident. If you ever find yourself dealing with the consequences of a rainy day collision, remember that the Bob Katz Law car accident lawyers are available to support you through the legal process. Stay focused, slow down when the drops start falling, and arrive at your destination safely.