ROANOKE, Va. – AAA said only about six inches of water is enough to cause drivers to lose control of their vehicles. Their biggest advice? Turn around and don’t drown.
More than one million traffic crashes happen on wet roads each year. Of those almost 4,500 turned deadly and more than 350,000 of them ended in injuries, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
AAA said don’t use cruise control, brake early, slow down, and if your car starts to hydroplane, back off the accelerator and wait until you feel those tires start to connect with the pavement again and that’s when you want to hit that break gently.
“If you do feel the car start to hydroplane, backing off on that accelerator and waiting until you feel those tires start to connect with the pavement again and that’s when you want to hit that break gently to try and slow the vehicle down slowly, doing anything too quickly or too dramatically on wet roads can really cause some problems,” Morgan Dean, AAA Mid-Atlantic Spokesperson said.
AAA said most people underestimate the power of water on the road and how easily a person and vehicle can be taken by the water.