Most drivers will experience hydroplaning in their driving career, even in dry climates. As hydroplaning is common among drivers, it increases the risk of an accident. Most weather-related crashes occur on wet pavement and during rainfall, according to the Federal Highway Administration. When it is raining, roughly 3,400 people are killed, and more than 357,000 people are injured in crashes annually. To help keep you from hydroplaning and get you where you are going safely, you should maintain your tires and driving with extra care when it rains. To avoid hydroplaning while on the road and how it happens is what we at Speedway Towing & Roadside Assistance would like to discuss today.
Science of Hydroplaning; What is it Usually Caused By?
Due to a film of water on the surface that causes the tires to lose contact with it is where the term hydroplaning is used to refer to a vehicle skidding on a wet surface. Basically, when a tire encounters more water than it can disperse is when hydroplaning occurs. By a thin film of water and loses traction, water pressure in the front of the wheel pushes water under the tire, and the tire is then separated from the road.
Check Tire Treads to Help Avoid Hydroplaning
Drivers typically have a loss of steering, braking and power control when you hydroplane. Being designed to channel water from beneath the tire, the rubber tires have tread or grooves which can create higher friction with the road surface and can help prevent or minimize instances of hydroplaning. To make sure they can function properly, be sure to check the thread on your tires periodically.
What to Do when Hydroplaning Occurs
The first ten minutes of a rainstorm can be the most dangerous, however, hydroplaning can occur on any wet surface. Slippery conditions are created when light rain mixes with oil residue on the surface, and that causes vehicles to hydroplane. During poor weather conditions such as fog, rain, ice and snow increases the chance of being involved in a motor vehicle accident. Since it is the slick conditions that drivers are not prepared for, it is not necessarily the pouring rain and blinding snow that are the most dangerous. If at all possible, try to avoid driving in these conditions.
Tips for Avoiding Hydroplaning
1) Take advantage of the center lanes on the highway
2) Stay in a lower gear
3) Reduce speed during wet conditions
4) When necessary, rotate and replace tires
5) Minimize braking hard
6) To the recommended PSI, inflate tires
7) Drive in the tire tracks left by the vehicles in front of you
8) While it rains, do not use cruise control
9) Avoid turns that are sharp or quick
10) Stay away puddles and standing water
Towing, Roadside Assistance & More in Irving, Fort Worth, Arlington, Carrollton & Plano Texas
If you find that you have been in a collision while hydroplaning, or any other reason and you need your vehicle towed in the Greater Irving, Texas, contact the professionals of Speedway Towing & Roadside Assistance. We are readily available to provide our towing and roadside assistance services when you need help.
