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( vote)Driving on wet roads carries many dangers, such as that of aquaplaning. It deserves special attention because the grip of the tyres is significantly reduced, resulting in the risk of losing control of your vehicle at any time and causing a serious road accident. Below are some useful tips for dealing with the phenomenon of aquaplaning.
As is logical, all of us have experienced the danger of driving on a wet road, which can often lead to the creation of a road accident.
The poor condition of the Greek roads is not the only reason for the problems created.
Human error is responsible for most road accidents.
It must be understood that when a car is moving on a wet road, the driving balances
they are changing radically.
When tyre traction is greatly reduced
it is not at all difficult to completely lose control of the vehicle.
What are the risks of reducing the traction of tyres when driving on wet roads?
Under no circumstances should the driver be complacent,
because it probably has new tires.
Even the special tires for driving on wet roads, which have a special engraving to ensure maximum water drainage, in order to have a satisfactory percentage of contact between the tyre and the road surface, have a maximum limit, after which aquaplaning makes its appearance.
A large proportion of experienced drivers have reported losing control of their vehicle's steering wheel while at the same time the wheels have lost their grip with the road while driving on wet roads at a speed of more than 80 kilometers per hour.
This is caused due to the phenomenon of aquaplaning
(click here to watch an explanatory video)).
Simply put, when it rains on the wet road surface, a water film is created that can reach up to 10 (mm) millimeters thick, this occurs especially in parts of the road network where the slope of the road surface is not appropriate.
At the time when a vehicle at a low speed passes over this accumulated water film, the tire pushes the water into its grooves and drives it away, thus maintaining contact with the road surface.
However, as the speed of a vehicle grows, the contact time of each point of the tyre with the road surface diminishes making it impossible for the water to escape from the roadway.
As a result, a layer of water is created in front of the tyre, which no longer has the same contact with the road surface.
Moreover, when the speed of the vehicle increases more, then the layer of water passes below the point of contact, resulting in the tyre now sliding on the water film.
Therefore it is now impossible to control the vehicle and its directionality, it is like an adrift 'boat'.
The only way to restore the lost traction of the vehicle is to reduce the speed smoothly without panic braking or violent movements on the steering wheel.
When you realize that the tyres have regained contact with the road surface, then you can brake harder or change direction in your vehicle.
It is noteworthy that if this phenomenon occurs when you are in the process of turning then things become very difficult because the vehicle will either suffer understeer or oversteer situations almost irreversible.
That is why, based on the above, before the onset of this phenomenon, movements during driving should be done with special care and calmness.
Abrupt changes in direction and accelerations or decelerations should be avoided at all costs in order for the driver to have complete control of the car at all times.
It is very important for the driver to always keep in mind that the wet road surface 'hides' traps that may have various forms.
For example, they may have either the form of a puddle, or the form of oils on the surface of the road surface.
or even mud.
All of the above definitely requires readiness.
Apart from the danger sign (K-12), an empirical indication that can foreshadow the driver is the intense sheen of the road surface, which of course can be distinguished due to poor asphalt quality (slippery road surface) up to a concentration of a large amount of water at a specific point.
The driver must be particularly restrained when moving on a road unknown to him and anticipate what may happen to him.
For example, if you have never crossed a road before and you notice at some point that the road shines brightly, you should expect that this sheen may be hiding a puddle, which is probably so big,
to cause damage to the car.
Prevention measures to address the phenomenon of aquaplaning
when driving on wet roads.
Check the tread depth of the tyres.
You should be aware that as long as the tread depth is within the limits set by the manufacturer then the tire can remove the water film from the grooves.
Regular check of tyre pressure.
The lower the tyre pressure
the easier it is to make the appearance of the phenomenon of aquaplaning.
Driving on wet roads needs full concentration,
especially during the night (see 5 reasons why night driving is considered the weakest link), and always maintain the right safety distance from the vehicles in front (see What is the correct safety distance between 2 vehicles with numbers).
It is therefore very important to know that driving on the wet road always hides dangerous traps that are capable of leading to a serious road accident.
