When it’s your decision to do so, sliding across the pavement like slippery socks on a vinyl floor is an adrenaline-spiking thrill unlike any other. When it’s not your decision to do so, however, sliding across the pavement is a fear-instilling event that will leave you questioning why you’re waiting to take that bucket-list trip to the Grand Canyon.
Scary skids are significantly more likely when dealing with precipitation, but it doesn’t have to be sleet, snow, or ice. Regular plain rain can be just as dangerous if the evil stars align and your car begins to hydroplane.
Hydroplaning is covered in regulatory driving tests, but it’s not something you fully understand until you experience it. It’s impossible to completely avoid it for your entire life, so the only thing you can do is prepare yourself for when it occurs. The Drive’s editors have gathered a guide to explain what hydroplaning is, when and why it occurs, and how to handle yourself when lightning does strike. Get your notebook and learn something new below.
Hydroplaning, also referred to as aquaplaning, is when water, sometimes mixed with other contaminants, gets underneath an automobile’s tires’ contact patches and separates the tires and vehicle from the road surface. The car is then technically riding on slippery wetness rather than the grippy road because the tires cannot displace the water fast enough.
Hydroplaning occurs when the amount of water on the road overwhelms the tires’ abilities to remove water from underneath the tire through the tire tread grooves.
This doesn’t necessarily mean it only happens when there’s a massive amount of precipitation raining down from the sky. Depending on how bald your tires are or how underinflated they are, it could even happen on a slippery road surface during a light rain.
Hydroplaning is also more likely to occur at higher speeds.
Technically, hydroplaning can occur anywhere there is smooth pavement or a surface that can trap water underneath the tires. This is especially true on roads with standing water like runoff or puddles. Because of the speed, it might be more likely to experience hydroplaning on a highway.
There are precautions you can take that will help prevent hydroplaning.
*French Montana voice* Don’t panic.
You’ve got questions, The Drive has answers!
A: Hydroplaning feels as if the road suddenly switched from blacktop to ice. It feels like a total loss of control, during which your car could slide any which way. To put it politely, it’s darn terrifying.
A: No.
A: Not necessarily. Accidents are called accidents for a reason. There are countless unforeseen things that can happen on the road, but how you drive and how well you take care of your tires could increase the likelihood of hydroplaning.
A: There is no specific amount that guarantees hydroplaning, as the condition of the tires is equally as important. The harder it’s raining, though, the higher the likelihood of hydroplaning.
Rain-X Glass Cleaner and Rain Repellant
Tekton Digital Tire Pressure Gauge
Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Tires
Big Red Torin Steel Jack Stands, 6-Ton Capacity
Powerbuilt Unijack, 3-Ton Capacity
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