If you’ve ever driven on wet roads or through a puddle of standing water and felt like you didn’t have control of your vehicle, you may have already experienced this. Since this can happen to any driver at one time or another, it’s important to know what to do when hydroplaning.
What is hydroplaning
Hydroplaning is usually caused by too much water between your tires and the road. This can cause your tires to lose contact with the surface and subsequently lose traction. Some of the contributing factors to hydroplaning include:
- Vehicle speed: As the speed of your tires increases in water, their traction decreases
- Tire tread depth: Worn tire tread decreases traction and increases your chances of hydroplaning
- Depth of the water: The deeper the water is, the faster you’re likely to lose traction
How to handle your vehicle when hydroplaning
No matter how safe of a driver you are, hydroplaning can still happen. Let’s look at what you should do when that occurs.