Myth Busting: Can you use cruise control in the wet?
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Bus drivers can also proactively confirm that their bus is in optimal shape to handle the expected rain. Even after the rain stops, keep an eye out for moving water on the side of the road. This can make the vehicle’s tires lose traction, which can cause you to lose control.
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Plus, you’ll know to check tire inflation and to make sure that windshield wipers and window defrosters are working properly. The bigger question, of course, is whether or not it is actually dangerous to use cruise control in the rain. Our sibling site Lifehacker came out supporting the cruise-in-the-rain ban back in 2014, and you can find this issue being discussed, either supporting or debunking, as far back as 2006 at least.
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Is it safe to use cruise control in the rain?
Fleet management software also makes it easier to identify best- and worst-performing drivers and simplifies driver coaching too. Even cars older than the 1990s will kill the cruise control from even the briefest tap on the brakes; if a cruise setup keeps accelerating, something is very wrong. This isn’t unique to one particular brand, this is how all cruise control systems work, and have worked since the widespread adoption of vehicle stability systems in the early 1990s.
Is It Safe to Drive in the Rain With Cruise Control On?
Cruise control is a system that tries to keep your car at a constant speed. It’s useful on long motorway journeys where you don’t want your speed to creep up. It doesn’t accelerate hard and most systems have no control over the brakes. What that’s saying is that as soon as a car on cruise in heavy rain begins to hydroplane or skid or experience some other loss of control, cruise control kicks off. If you are driving in the rain, always, always disable your cruise control.
Cruise control is helpful in relieving some of the exhaustion related to long-distance driving as well as maintaining a consistent speed which could be very useful for lead-foot drivers. Learn about cruise control and best practices for using this handy feature before your next long-distance road trip. The bare minimum of options with cruise control is on/off, set and cancel. Most have a resume function which restores your last speed, and most new ones have the ability to increase or decrease the speed in 1mph increments (and sometimes bigger jumps). Some systems also have a speed limiter option and more advanced systems use radar to detect the distance to the vehicle in front and adjust your speed to its speed while keeping a safe distance.
The next time you find yourself behind the wheel of car in a rainstorm, be sure to disable cruise control. If you end up hydroplaning, your cruise control can make it a lot more dangerous. Try to slow your vehicle by taking your foot off the accelerator earlier than you normally would in preparation to slow down or stop.
The only way to stop wheels from spinning and maintain control is to immediately reduce power. An activated cruise control system applies continuous power, keeping the wheels spinning. By the time you disengage the cruise control it may be too late – you may have already lost control. HowStuffWorks provides a clear explanation of cruise control’s function. The system varies throttle inputs to maintain an even speed, using an actuator instead of an accelerator. As that happens, the throttle valve opens or closes, controlling how much air enters the engine.
Why Are My Brakes Making Noise?
The only person the accident victim found who knew this, (besides the Officer), was a man who’d had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.. Use of the cruise control in these conditions can be dangerous. The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the drivers seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY along with the airbag warning. The only person I've found out who knew this (besides the patrolman) was a man who had a similar accident and totaled his car. This has made me wonder if this is not why so many of our young people are dying in accidents. And in city environments, with pedestrians crossing streets, it’s good to turn cruise control off.
Such systems don’t decelerate if the vehicle in front slows due to any reason or when there’s an accident ahead in your lane. According to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, most adaptive cruise control systems have a response time of 1.1 seconds, significantly longer than human drivers. This delayed response time may cause an accident if an obstacle or a vehicle ahead poses a threat. Hydroplaning is one of the most common car accidents in the rain because drivers can lose control. If your car hydroplanes, calmly take your foot off the accelerator and steer. You should steer in the direction that the front of your car wants to go.
Continental is a developer and supplier of cruise control systems for a number of automakers. The internet is really useful for many things, ranging from letting your wi-fi enabled refrigerator to blast Yoo-Hoo ads 24/7 to letting you play Canasta with a naked man halfway across the world. But one of the things it truly excels at is spreading misinformed hysteria, often about driving. Such a case is the persistent and dire “don’t use cruise control in the rain” warning that has been floating around for well over a decade. Cruise control as we know it, was invented by a bloke called Ralph Teeter, who was blind.
When you're driving on wet roads, disable your cruise control and lower your speed. If you do start to skid or hydroplane, take your foot off the gas, grasp the steering wheel with both hands, and steer toward the direction of the skid. Once you have some control you can correct your car and get centered back in your lane. Cruise control is a great feature, especially on those long road trips, but make sure you keep an eye out for wet roads and rain. Wet roads are dangerous because the rainwater causes the oil and grease on the road to rise up to the top of the water.
Cruise control works by monitoring your car’s speed and then adjusting the throttle inputs to keep it at the same speed. It’s usually only accurate to within 3-5kph so it’s not a good idea to set it to 107kph because you may exceed the police’s tolerance level. To maintain the set speed, the engine has to fight against wind resistance, inclines, and the rolling resistance of the tires. Therefore when driving, the engine is always working because there’s always something pushing against the car. Unless you are driving on a sufficiently steep downhill gradient, in which case gravity takes over and you will speed up even with no throttle input. Yet, the person in the driver seat doesn’t need to be solely responsible for safe driving in challenging weather conditions.
Instead of constantly changing speeds, cars know how fast you’re driving and can follow safely behind you or pass. Even driving in light rain changes the conditions as the roads grow slicker. Plus, there’s the risk of other vehicle drivers making poor decisions such as driving too fast or aggressively even though the roads are wet. An accident for one driver becomes a dangerous lane obstruction for many others. Driving through wet roads at high speeds can cause your car to lose traction and hydroplane as your tires will rotate too fast to grip the roads properly.
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