Aquaplaning occurs when a thin layer of water builds up between your tyres and the road surface.
When this happens, you may feel/experience the following:
- Your steering may become lighter.
- It can feel like you are coasting, and you may hear your engine sounding slightly louder.
- You may feel like the back end of your car is drifting. This is especially the case for lighter rear-wheel drive sports cars.
How to control aquaplaning?
The faster your vehicle is going, the higher the chance you may experience aquaplaning.
Aquaplaning can often occur on motorways when you are driving in heavy rain.
If you feel like your car is losing control, then you should know how to control aquaplaning; see below:
- Don’t over-react and press your brake pedal hard!
- Gently ease off the gas and if you don’t regain control soon afterwards, apply the brake very gently.
- Always try to avoid changing direction with the steering wheel until you have regained control.
- If you have cruise control on, then switch this off.
How to avoid aquaplaning?
Try to avoid driving in dips in the road, uneven road surfaces and any areas where you can see large volumes of settled water, such as areas where you see drainage problems and floods.
You can also reduce your chances of aquaplaning by keeping on top of the following:
- Make sure your tyre tread depth is significantly above the minimum 1.6mm.
- Make sure your tyres are correctly inflated. If your tyres are overinflated, this will go against you when driving in the rain.
- Follow vehicle tracks in the road; vehicles in front of you will spray the water out of the way, so as long as you keep your distance from the car in front, this will help.
- Read the road ahead as far as possible and try to identify heavy water on the road early. If the car in front is producing massive spray on the road, this is a sign that you are driving on a sheet of water on the road.
- Ensure your speed is safe for the amount of water on the road. Water just 2.5mm deep can cause aquaplaning. If in any doubt, it’s safer to go a bit slower than a bit faster.
- If you know in advance before starting your journey that there has been severe heavy rain and flood warnings, then ask yourself if your trip is essential. If it is, consider alternative routes to where large water settlements may be present.
Know your stopping distances and remember your stopping distance can double in the rain and increase up to ten times when driving in the snow.
