Cruise Control in wet weather

[The G6ET Spot]

I just recieved this email concerning the use of the cruise control in wet weather. I was wondering how many people are informed of this when they buy a car.



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 & 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 highway patrolman 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 Highway Patrolman 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 patrolman that was
exactly what had occurred. The Highway Patrol estimated her car was
actually travelling through the air at 10 to 15 miles per hour faster
than the speed set on the cruise control. The patrolman said this
warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE
CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT 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 don't tell them to use the cruise control only when
the pavement is dry. The only person the accident victim found, who knew
this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar
accident, totalled his car and sustained severe injuries. If you send
this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, then it
was all worth it. You might have saved a life.

[Keepleft]

It's learner driver stuff squire. (RUH)

[EvilChief]

when on CC be only a touch away from the brakes/clutch - they will disable the CC

i drive CC everywhere for 6 years with no probs, plenty of times in the wet and on ice, just be caucious and dont become too comfortable

[Ultimate]

Yep your dead set right. IF you unsure dont use it in bad conditions the manuel will tell you that

[MAD]

That all sounds crazy to me, how can the cruise control accellerate the car if there is no traction? Also if the wheels are spinning the computer will still back off once it has reached the set speed on the speedo.

[superpursuit83]

Originally Posted by MADXF

That all sounds crazy to me, how can the cruise control accellerate the car if there is no traction? Also if the wheels are spinning the computer will still back off once it has reached the set speed on the speedo.

Yeah you would think less friction on rd so wheels spin faster and speed gets higher, the cruise would back off.

[seano14]

Originally Posted by superpursuit83

Yeah you would think less friction on rd so wheels spin faster and speed gets higher, the cruise would back off.

spot on... the wheels would spin faster and that car would believe it's picking up speed so it would probably back off instantly until the driveline is doing the designated speed again.

i can see why using cruise in bad weather isnt a good idea but this story sounds stupid. wtf is take off like an airplane? you dont pick up speed when you aquaplane, infact you'd still be losing speed even with the foot to the floor. no traction plus the resistance of the water you're plowing through

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by RAPID XR8

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 & 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 highway patrolman 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 Highway Patrolman 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 patrolman that was
exactly what had occurred. The Highway Patrol estimated her car was
actually travelling through the air at 10 to 15 miles per hour faster
than the speed set on the cruise control. The patrolman said this
warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE
CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT 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 don't tell them to use the cruise control only when
the pavement is dry. The only person the accident victim found, who knew
this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar
accident, totalled his car and sustained severe injuries. If you send
this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, then it
was all worth it. You might have saved a life.

Sorry Rapid but that has to be the biggest BS I have read. If it was a true story why does it state MPH nor KPH??
You have received chain email mate, nothing more.

[Biggoggs]

But the Highway Patrolman 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.

Wow, when your car hydroplanes, it rapidly accelerates and takes of like an airplane!
So a GT wing isn't for downforce... it's to control your vehicle when it's soaring over houses

It sounds like spam to me, or one of those `SEND THIS TO 5 PEOPLE FOR LUCK' messages with 25 levels of "> > > > > > > >" nested quotes.

[Paxton]

I use my cruise in all weather conditions, and I have had no problems with anything like what has been described. I trust it more in wet weather. Cruise is a wonderful thing. It has a sensor in the Driveshaft, and if it senses it going faster than the set speed, it backs off instantly. If it is going downhill, and it speeds up going uphill.

Its not rocket surgery.

[AUXRVIII]

The cruise in Falcons will deactivate if an unrealistic increase in rear wheel speed occurs to avoid this type of thing.

[Casper]

[Collected on the Internet, 2003]

Some good advice, and you may know this already, but it is good to repeat!

A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas, she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessive, 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 highway patrolman 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 highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on and your car begins to hydroplaned - when your tires loose contact with the pavement your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed and you take off like an airplane.. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

We all know you have little or no control over a car when it begins to hydroplane. You are at the mercy of the Good Lord. The highway patrol estimated her car was actually traveling through the air at 10 to 15 miles per hour faster than the speed set on the cruise control.

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.

We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry. The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.

If you send this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, then it was all worth it. You might have saved a life.

http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/wetroad.asp

[T2TL50]

Originally Posted by RAPID XR8

I just recieved this email concerning the use of the cruise control in wet weather. I was wondering how many people are informed of this when they buy a car.



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 & 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 highway patrolman 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 Highway Patrolman 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 patrolman that was
exactly what had occurred. The Highway Patrol estimated her car was
actually travelling through the air at 10 to 15 miles per hour faster
than the speed set on the cruise control. The patrolman said this
warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE
CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT 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 don't tell them to use the cruise control only when
the pavement is dry. The only person the accident victim found, who knew
this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar
accident, totalled his car and sustained severe injuries. If you send
this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, then it
was all worth it. You might have saved a life.

What happens if you are driving a car fitted with CC and Traction Controll?

The wheels would only slow down untill the wheels gripped the pavement more.. and Cruise is deactivated due to the break being applied..

Smart move with traction controll in my opinion..

[82XD393.3v]

when hydroplaning any form of sudden exceleration or deceleration or braking can send you into a spin best to stay steady and ride it out :eclipsee_

[Doogstar]

I think the real lesson here is, don't drive on the pavement, there is much more room on the road. _2:

[qwigybo]

cruise goes off it's head without traction... test it yourself, set your cruise control and push your car into neutral it just keeps revving

[Mechan1k]

Originally Posted by qwigybo

cruise goes off it's head without traction... test it yourself, set your cruise control and push your car into neutral it just keeps revving

Of course it will keep revving when in Neutral ... because the car is going slower than the set speed (being in Neutral doesn't mean you do not have traction ... it means there is no "tractive power") ... so it is trying to compensate by increasing revs. Although in the wet you are still in gear ... the rear wheels (or front wheels .... depending on the car) will pick up speed quicker if the car starts aquaplaning and reaches the set speed pretty damn quick ... in which it will back off immediately.

I have used cruise in all weather conditions ... but in the wet I do switch it off in the ute ... especially around twisty areas and mountains roads .... in the Territory though I keep it engaged .... cos if traction control decides it wants to work cruise is disengaged automatically anyway.

[genebaby]

The cruise in my XF Ghia was great, really maintained my set speed really well. Once set, it did like to power up to that speed though. My friend was driving on a trip to Sydney and he wasn't ready for this. We were on a slight incline and it was a bit rainy and he hit the resume button, and whoa, she started to slide around. Was kinda funny once everything calmed down.

[Pedro]

I had the same thing happen to me in an XF.

I could be wrong but from memory the computer in XF's adjusted cruise control 4 times per second and accelerated hard to get to the set speed.

Later models are far quicker and accelerate moderately.

[troppo]

Needs a punch line...
Puddles of water launch cars into the air???
Accelleration with no road contact on drive wheels???
A resident of Wollongong, NSW AND Kilgore, Texas???
At what point does rain become "excessive"???
Sounds like a crock to me.

cruise goes off it's head without traction... test it yourself, set your cruise control and push your car into neutral it just keeps revving

That'd be because the driveshaft sensor is not picking up an increase in speed while it's in neutral, so it revs harder till the sensor feedback matches set speed....not going to happen while in neutral but will happen if rear wheels are raised.

[Ghiadude]

im pretty sure its a crock of ИИИИ. i drive that road everyday in wet and sometimes monsoonal conditions and ive never had a problem....

it all depends where the ECU for the cc gets its wheelspeed from. front wheels on a rwd car=bad. i dont know of any cars that are configured this way

[billyb35]

Snopes > OP

[bathurst77]

AFAIK Cruise works out how fast the car is going by a sensor on one of more of the wheels. It counts how many RPM the WHEELS are doing and increases or decreases engine revs to suit.
IF the car was in neutral the wheels will rotate slower (unless going downhill) Cruise will increase revs to try adn speed it up.

If the car Aquaplaned (Hydraplaned?- yep yank story) the wheels wil start to spin rapidly, cruise will think your going over the set speed and drop revs. It wont speed up.

'Sides if you aquaplane, you have lost traction, so it doesnt matter what the engine does, it cant cause your car to "accelerate to a higher rate of speed
and you take off like an airplane".

But you are prob better off not using Cruise in heavy rain, so you can micromanage any little puddle induced traction losses and attitude adjustments with your right foot. Especially if there are other cars, turns and hills.

Maybe "Mot-Adv-NSW, Keepleft" should take some more learner driver lessons?

[The Monty]

I have aquaplaned with cruise on , and its all over very quickly, too quickly for the car to accelerate by16-24 K's an hour.
I think it sounds like a crock, but thats just me.

[ltd]

I thought the speed was measured in the transmission. Ford (borg warner, BTRE) has the Speedo transducer mounted on the left hand side of the gearbox, and I was told by the sparky at Jubilee that that is where the vehicle speed is measured from. Also, in the older manual cars (in which this was probably the case with this texan woman), the speed input is measured from one of the non power wheels (to prevent a spike if you break traction), and the inherent danger of this is the input does not realise the traction loss for the power wheels, and tells the cruise control that it is not up to speed. I read somewhere years ago that no cars will ever conform to new vehicle design rules with this older system. (I think it took a class action against ford, chrysler or GM to do it).

[outback_ute]

I don't think it is entirely BS, despite being wildly exaggerated. If you have cruise control on, and it breaks traction trying to maintain or return to the set speed, then you may have problems especially if you are not travelling in a straight line. However for that to happen, I think you would have to be travelling at inappropriate speed for the conditions - you might aquaplane if there is a puddle on the road which might last a few metres, but to aquaplane on standing water on the road shows a serious lack of sensitivity to conditions.