AQUAPLANNING IS A PAIN

When the rain hits and the water stands, you’ve got a problem in your hands. Your tires hit a patch, lose traction and end in a crash. The bad rhymes won’t kill you but aquaplaning will. Discover how to avoid it.

Aquaplaning (or also known as hydroplaning) happens when water on the roadway accumulates in front of your vehicle’s tires faster that the weight of your vehicle can push it out of the way. The water pressure can cause your car to rise up and slide on top of a thin layer of water between your tyres and the road, essentially floating your wheels momentarily. To better conceptualize aquaplaning, imagine your vehicle riding on top of the water, like a wake boarder on a lake as the motorboat pulls it along at speed. The faster the motorboat progresses, the more lift the wake boarder experiences. In less than a second on the road, your car can completely lose contact with the ground, putting you in immediate danger of sliding out of your lane.


There are 6 main factors that contribute to aquaplaning:

1. VEHICLE SPEED
As Bernoullis Principle in physics would imply, the faster the air passes the top of the car versus the bottom, the more lift is generated. This means less pressure the wheels have on the tarmac to disperse water and higher chance of vehicular wake-boarding!

2. TIRE TREAD
Large tread blocks and asymmetrical lateral grooves work best to improve water dispersal. Goodyear’s Extreme V-TRED technology and Bridgestone’s ‘super slant’ designs are some of the notable tire technologies to do this.

3. TIRE GROOVE
Worn tires with shallow grooves are disasters waiting to happen. These do not cut through water properly and are at high risk of accidents.

4. DEPTH OF WATER
With deeper puddles, the water pressure in front of the wheel forces a wedge of water under the leading edge of the tire, causing it to lift from the road.

5. UNDERINFLATED
Tires. Improperly inflated tires spread their weight unevenly and do not allow the tires to get rid of water efficiently.

6.TIRE WIDTH
Narrower tires are less vulnerable to hydroplaning. The vehicle weight is distributed over a smaller contact patch, results in greater ability for the tires to push water out of the way. (Imagine dough roller versus a CD).

6 WAYS TO PREVENT AQUAPLANING

• DRIVE SLOW(ER)
The panel of motoring experts at Australian caradvice.com website reckons having good tires will probably save you from from aquaplaning at speeds less than 50 km/h. In cases where the tires are excessively worn (bald tires) or underinflated, or the water is very deep the safety speed may vary.

• KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD
Attention and anticipation on the road can save lives. If aquaplaning catches you off guard (strumming the air guitar to Van Halen or worse, picking your nose), you could dive straight into the barriers.

• WHEELS OF MISFORTUNE
Keep your hands firmly on the steering wheel, driving on wet terrain. Never rapidly steer or swerve the car approaching puddles or when aquaplaning. This will put the car into an uncontrollable skid.

• AVOID PUDDLES
Whenever possible, avoid driving over puddles. Firstly, you might be unsure of the condition of the tires. Secondly, deep crevices can be hidden by standing water.

• MAINTENANCE
Check the tire pressure at least every fortnight. While you’re at it, scrutinize the groove depth of the tire to see if it’s time for a new one. There’s no set rule for tire change, as the rubber wear rate ranges depending on driving style and running environment.

• IF IT HAPPENS, KNOW THIS…
Gently ease off the accelerator. Never try to steer the car or jump on the brakes, this could cause the car to spin out of control. And remember the golden rule of emergencies - “don’t panic!”