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  • A driving safety message

    My sister sent me this email
    She works in insurance and passed it on to me as a safety precaution

    NEVER KNEW THIS BEFORE

    I wonder how many people know about this?

    A 36-year-old female had an accident several weeks ago and totalled her
    car. A resident of Wollongong , NSW, she was travelling between
    Wollongong and Sydney . It was raining, though not excessively, when her
    car suddenly began to hydroplane and literally flew through the air.

    She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

    When she explained to the policeman what had happened, he told her
    something that every driver should know -
    NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON.

    She had thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and
    maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain, but the policeman told
    her that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplane -
    when your tyres lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate
    to a higher rate of speed and you take off like an
    airplane. She told the policeman that was exactly what had occurred.

    The policeman estimated her car was actually travelling through the air
    at 10 to 15 kms per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise
    control. The policeman said this warning should be listed, on the
    drivers seat sun-visor -
    NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE ROAD IS WET OR ICY - along with
    the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and
    drive a safe speed but we dont tell them to use the cruise control only
    when the road is dry.

    The only person the accident victim found who knew this (besides the
    policeman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totalled his car

    I hope by reading this

    You might save a life.

    KK

  • #2
    Re: A driving safety message

    http://www.hoax-slayer.com/cruise-control-warning.html

    Commentary:
    This email forward warns that drivers should not use cruise control in the rain. The message claims that using cruise control can actually cause the vehicle to accelerate through the air if it hits standing water and hydroplanes (aquaplanes).

    While the core claim (dont use cruise control in wet conditions) is valid, the message seriously mangles the facts and is therefore misleading and overly alarmist.

    ........................

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: A driving safety message

      Always verify anything received on the Internet KK

      http://www.hoax-slayer.com/cruise-control-warning.html

      However, the claim in the message that cruise control itself can actually make the vehicle accelerate and fly through the air in a hydroplaning situation is dubious at best. A CarPoint Australia article that debunks the claims in the email notes:

      This is the key that makes a nonsense of the email. Modern cars take their speedo reading from the driveshaft or transmission. This means the cruise control bases its responses on the speed of the driven wheels, not the car itself. This is an important distinction and fail safe position.

      If the driven wheels skid because they lose grip, the spinning wheels will cause the speedo to show a higher reading which will force the cruise control to release the throttle faster than most drivers. Regardless of whether the car itself slows down or speeds up, the cruise control will always reduce the throttle no matter what until the driven wheels slow down back to the pre-set speed.

      If the wheels continue to slip under this scenario, this will always leave the car travelling more slowly relative to the road, not faster as described in the email.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: A driving safety message

        Thaks lads
        I dont have cruise control

        And should I reprimand my sister ??

        KK

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: A driving safety message

          Big sister or little sister?

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: A driving safety message

            Originally posted by 757F6A7D7D726660130 link=1284007797/4#4 date=1284008990
            Big sister or little sister?  
            Younger than me but the one in middle

            I sent her an email with the links noted (above) just now to have a read

            KK

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: A driving safety message

              Originally posted by 515B4E5959564244370 link=1284007797/4#4 date=1284008990
              Big sister or little sister?  
              I have heard this story before. Modern cars have ABS/stability controls.

              I think you will find that cruise control or no cruise control, a slip is detected and managed by the software and hardware of the car.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: A driving safety message

                True or false I think this is really interesting... I mean, leaving unpredictable conditions up to the speed limiting of a mechanical device just adds one more variable to go wrong :s

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: A driving safety message

                  and then there is the story on the guy (P plater) driving near the Gold Coast (Sth of Brisbane), whose cruise control stuffed up leaving him cruising at 80km/hr with no way of turning it off. He even rang Ford service and they suggested bringing it in.... he explained the problem with that! I think he ended up crashing, but was fine.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: A driving safety message

                    Originally posted by 4B49404C1717210 link=1284007797/8#8 date=1284026144
                    and then there is the story on the guy (P plater) driving near the Gold Coast (Sth of Brisbane), whose cruise control stuffed up leaving him cruising at 80km/hr with no way of turning it off. He even rang Ford service and they suggested bringing it in.... he explained the problem with that! I think he ended up crashing, but was fine.
                    Melbourne 2009 http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/freeway-driver-stuck-in-80kmh-cruise-control/story-e6frfku0-1225810719113

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: A driving safety message

                      My son and I had a discussion about this to discuss the technical aspects and came to the same conclusions as the articles pointed too.

                      We both understand the mechanics of cruise control and the physics of aquaplaning.

                      However, it has got me thinking.

                      2mcm mentions modern cars and ABS. Good point.

                      However, my 2000 model manual Astra has cruise control but no ABS.
                      I have made a mental note not to use cruise control in the wet for reasons I understand but hadnt thought about before now.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: A driving safety message

                        Originally posted by 66646D613A3A0C0 link=1284007797/8#8 date=1284026144
                        and then there is the story on the guy (P plater) driving near the Gold Coast (Sth of Brisbane), whose cruise control stuffed up leaving him cruising at 80km/hr with no way of turning it off. He even rang Ford service and they suggested bringing it in.... he explained the problem with that! I think he ended up crashing, but was fine.

                        I heard this story, cruise control does not stop you turning the car off (instead of just cruise control), or taking it out of gear. I just sat there shaking my head listening to that story on the radio.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: A driving safety message

                          Turning the car off can cause problems and should only be done, IMO, in certain circumstances like the recent spate of jammed throttles on Toyotas in the U.S.A.
                          If you turn off the motor you lose power assistance to the brakes.
                          If you turn the key too far you lock the steering wheel.

                          Taking it out of gear means you lose one form of control over the car.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: A driving safety message

                            Originally posted by 1E3A333330300A1E3A26383A550 link=1284007797/0#0 date=1284007797
                            when your tyres lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and you take off like an airplane.... The policeman estimated her car was actually travelling through the air at 10 to 15 kms per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise control.
                            Ive had this emailed to me before and was kind of amused by the statement that your car accelerates and flies through the air like an airplane after losing traction.  mustve activated the afterburner or something... always wondered what that button was...
                            I love cruise control - use it everywhere, all the time (my drive to work is 90km each way).  The only problem is it highlights other peoples failure to maintain a constant speed - one of my coupla thousand pet driving hates...

                            Originally posted by 3F3D34386363550 link=1284007797/8#8 date=1284026144
                            then there is the story on the guy (P plater) driving near the Gold Coast (Sth of Brisbane), whose cruise control stuffed up leaving him cruising at 80km/hr with no way of turning it off. He even rang Ford service and they suggested bringing it in.... he explained the problem with that! I think he ended up crashing, but was fine.  
                            I remember hearing about this and found it a bit sus...  apparently he claimed that he was unable to take the car out of gear or turn it off... so multiple separate mechanical systems all failed at the same time???  unlikely.  
                            Ive had a stuck throttle before -its a bit disconcerting but as soon as youre on a relatively straight bit of road just turn off the car and jump on the brakes - sure theyre much less effective without power assistance but it beats being stuck in cruise control waiting to crash...

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: A driving safety message

                              Originally posted by 6D41415E4B5C18177D2E0 link=1284007797/13#13 date=1284080239
                              The only problem is it highlights other peoples failure to maintain a constant speed - one of my coupla thousand pet driving hates...
                              As part of my job most of my driving is at night
                              My pet hate is headlights not adjusted correctly
                              To check your lights -
                              When parked behind a car & on a level road your light beam should not be over the bumper bar of the car in front of you

                              KK

                              Comment

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