Don't Use Your Cruise Control!

Hydroplaning...

What exactly is hydroplaning?? Hydroplaning (Hydro: water....Plane: fly) happens when there is enough water on the road to separate your tire contact patch from the pavement, creating a momentary loss of control of the vehicle. 
Think of it like this, ever been to the beach and gone skim boarding? You wait for the surf to recede but not entirely...there's just enough water there for your skimboard to surf for a few yards...that's what hydroplaning is to your vehicle. When the tire is separated from the pavement, you lose control...even if for just a split second it can cause a big accident. It can be a terrifying feeling...but know what to do and what exactly is happening can keep you safe.
First, it's best to be aware of the driving conditions and to spot a potential puddle in the roadway ahead of time...this way you don't panic and try to steer your way out of it. Its absolutely best to hit the puddle with the wheels pointed straight (this way, when they contact the road again and regain traction, you don't end up lurching in one direction or the other). Ease off the gas so that you are not accelerating when the tires lose traction and you get that engine rev that frightens you even more.

Don't use your cruise control in the rain!!

When you hydroplane, tires lose contact with the pavement and if you are accelerating (cruise control will "think" you need to accelerate) the wheels will just spin...in the meantime, you're not just sitting still, you're moving along at 20 or 30 MPH or worse...60MPH!! Just think...your tires will eventually regain traction and "grab" the pavement...so now you're in a panic because you feel the loss of control because of the hydroplaning and then, suddenly, the tires grab and you lurch forward again...straight into the guardrail!!

What to do...

Be aware...watch for puddles and be sure to avoid them. If you can't avoid them, go as straight as possible and ease off of the gas pedal...don't panic and don't use your cruise control!

Get more tips... 

My newly released book "Driving While Blind" is now available on Amazon 

 

Preface from my newly released book:

Driving While Blind

Preface: 

Arrested For Driving While Blind-ZZ Top

Warner Brothers; 1977

When you’re drivin’down the highway at night

And you’re feelin’ that wild turkeys bite

Don’t give Johnny Walker a ride

Cause Jack Black is right by your side

You might get taken to the jailhouse and find

You’ve been arrested for drivin’ while blind

Now just the other night with nothin’ to do

We broke a case of proof 102

And started itchin’ for that wonderful feel

Of rollin’ in an automobile

You could say we was out of our mind

And let me tell you we were flyin’ while blind

Then they had us up against the wall

Hey! It’s only blood grain alcohol

And there ain’t no cause for alarm

We ain’t out to do nobody no harm

How could anyone be so unkind

To arrest a man for drivin’ while blind

I was in High School when this song came out by ZZ Top and can remember thinking it was one of the coolest songs ever to hit the FM airwaves! I went out and bought the tape (on 8-track) immediately. Those were very different times…but our actions are no less costly or worse, deadly today.

            My concerns about safer driving all started when two of my 17 (at the time) year old daughter’s friends died in a crash about a mile from my home. It opened my eyes to some very controversial issues debated by many parents and a lot of concern by a whole bunch of teen aged drivers. Unfortunately, for the teen aged drivers, that concern doesn’t last very long.

            I know when I was a teenager, I thought I was invincible…”nothing like that could happen to me; and besides…I know everything”, at least I thought I did. At 17, the one thing I wish I had known is that I didn’t know jack-shit! Unfortunately, no one can tell you that when you are a teenager; you have to learn it on your own. How many of us were told “don’t touch the stove…its hot” and went ahead and touched it anyway?

            This is not to say that I intend this book (manual) to be a frightening “Scared Straight” (look it up on YouTube…the 1978 version) approach to learning how to drive, although that approach may have some validity. I would rather take the comic approach to teaching what I feel needs to be taught and in the end, my hope is that this book will be read and recommended by drivers of all ages. In fact, I’d love to see it become required reading.

            My bet is that, anyone who picks this book up will have been affected by the tragic death of a young driver; either by way of drugs and alcohol, a distracted driver or, in the case of my daughter’s friends, by way of bad weather and inexperience. Faulty equipment can also play a part, especially in crappy weather.

            What makes me qualified to write this? Nothing…and everything, really. First and foremost I am a parent; so I am an expert worrier. Second, I have no idea how many miles I have logged as a driver, but I do know that every one of the miles I have driven is accident free. Over the course of these miles I have developed some good habits which are second nature to me and third; I consider myself a semi-professional driver; having driven a limousine for several years just prior to writing this book and having been through several of Bridgestone’s Learn and Drive training courses.  I do not claim to be an expert, just a good qualified driver with plenty of experience which I would like to pass along.

            With that in mind I hope you enjoy reading this book, but more importantly I hope you take the lessons it provides, and carry them with you, live them, teach them and practice them. My goal with this book is to make a difference in just one young driver, to the point of having saved him or her from a fatal mistake. If I accomplish this; this book will have been a success.

Bob Hazard - March, 2019