How to Control Aquaplaning

A Canadian Direct Insurance Claim:

When a Canadian Direct customer was taking an exit ramp off of Hwy #1, which was very wet and slippery at the time, her vehicle started to skid, she lost control and hit another vehicle. She was not driving fast at all.

Could This Accident Have Been Avoided?

Driving safely in the rain can be difficult and challenging at the best of times. But when the rain is very heavy and puddles begin to form on the road surface, it becomes very dangerous, as this CDI customer has learned.

Driving through puddles or even heavy rain can cause your vehicle to begin to "aquaplane". What this means is the tires of your car literally begin to "skim" across the top of the water, much like a water ski. This is because the treads, or grooves, in the tires can not disperse the water quick enough, allowing the tire to ride on top of the water instead of cutting through it.

This can be a very un-nerving situation, as it means you have little to no control over the car. I bet there are a few of you who have experienced this!

Generally, there are two factors that contribute to aquaplaning, both of which you have control over. The first is the condition of your tires (including too little tire pressure). If they are worn badly, where the tread or groove depth is very shallow, the tires will begin to ride on top of the water very easily. The second factor is speed. The faster you go, the less time the tires have to disperse the water from beneath it. At a certain speed, no matter how good your tires are, you will begin to aquaplane.

And, there doesn't actually have to be a deep puddle for aquaplaning to occur. Just rain on the roadway will do it. Of course the heavier the rain, the worse your tires are, and the higher your speed, the greater the chances are of aquaplaning. And one more thing. Some roads, which have ruts running along where the tires of all the vehicles have passed, combined with poor drainage, are especially susceptible to causing cars to aquaplane. Try to avoid driving in these ruts by moving over just slightly within your lane.

The worst thing about aquaplaning is it takes you by surprise. You can just be driving along, when all of a sudden your car begins to skid or slide just like you're on ice. In fact, you have about the same amount of control as driving on ice. So, what do you do?

Well, much like driving on ice, do as little as possible. I know that doesn't sound like very good advice, but think about it. If you brake, it will make the skid or slide even worse. Step on the gas - accelerate - and it will make things worse. And steering won't help much either. After all, if you don't have any traction, how are any of these reactions going to help? All they do is make matters worse.

So, the best advice I can give is, very slightly, ease off the gas pedal - gently. And then keep the front wheels pointing straight ahead, even if it means driving towards something you don't want to, until you have stopped aquaplaning.

If you take your foot off the gas quickly, it will probably cause the driving wheels to lock-up and begin to skid even more. And if your front tires are turned (steered to the left or right), when they reach the other side of the puddle (or when they stop aquaplaning and regain traction), they will try to turn the car quickly. In the meantime, the rear tires have no traction because they are still aquaplaning. With the front tires going in one direction, and the rear tires with no traction, you are bound to begin spinning down the road - into a ditch, a pole, a parked car, on-coming traffic, or whatever.

Of course the easiest way to handle aquaplaning is to avoid it in the first place by making sure your tires are up to the job, trying to avoid driving in the worn ruts in the road, and keeping your speed down.

Once you have begun to aquaplane it's too late to try to slow down. And as I said, aquaplaning can very quickly take you by surprise. Often, you don't realize just how close you are to aquaplaning - and crashing - until it's too late. So, please take it easy when it begins to rain.

However, when you really think about it, aquaplaning should not take you totally by surprise. After all, every vehicle is equipped with its own aquaplaning-warning device: rain on the windshield.