The tread on your tyres is designed to push water away as you drive through shallow surface water. However, if there's been a period of heavy rain, you might see standing water on the roads. This is when you're most at risk of losing control of your car in an aquaplaning incident. Here’s how you can avoid running into trouble.
What’s aquaplaning?
Aquaplaning is a pretty simple concept. It happens when a layer of surface water gets under your car's tyres, preventing them from being able to grip the road properly. Your car ends up ‘floating’ on this water, taking control away from you, the driver.
You won’t be able to regain control of the car until your tyres start to grip the road again.
How do you prevent aquaplaning?
Aquaplaning to some degree can be unavoidable when surface water is on the roads. In these cases, you’d have to question whether you should be driving at all.
However, there are some things you can do to reduce the chance of being affected.
Reduce your speed
The slower you go, the more chance your car’s tyres have of being able to clear the water and get a grip on the road. Travelling at a slower speed will also give you more time to observe the road ahead and react accordingly.
Check your tyres
Although 1.6mm is the legal minimum for a tyre’s tread, tyres with less wear and more tread can clear more water from the road, in turn making aquaplaning less likely. A tyre’s ability to clear water is also improved if they are inflated to the correct pressure.
Drive in the path cleared by other cars
Every car on the road will clear away some water as it passes through. If enough cars follow the same road position, a drier path will appear. Stick to these drier tracks, and you’ll be less likely to lose control.
What should you do when aquaplaning?
Losing control of a car at high speeds is a frightening situation to be in, but you have to stay calm to reduce the risk of being involved in an accident.
There are a number of things you should do:
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Let the car slow down naturally by easing your foot off the accelerator. Be sure to turn off cruise control, too, if it's on.
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Don’t hit the brakes as this will cause you to skid uncontrollably.
- Don’t adjust the steering as this could cause you to spear off uncontrollably when your tyres grip tarmac again. Just keep steering as you would normally, following the road ahead.
Source: Auto Express
