Driving on Wet Roads

Rain and wet roads can reduce vehicle traction and affect your ability to stop and accelerate.

Always drive slower in these types of driving conditions and avoid driving through large puddles and deep–standing or flowing water.

WARNING!
Wet brakes can cause crashes.
They might not work as well in a quick stop and could cause pulling to one side. You could lose control of the vehicle.

After driving through a large puddle of water or a car/vehicle wash, lightly apply the brake pedal until the brakes work normally.
Flowing or rushing water creates strong forces. Driving through flowing water could cause the vehicle to be carried away. If this happens, you and other vehicle occupants could drown. Do not ignore police warnings and be very cautious about trying to drive through flowing water.

Hydroplaning

Hydroplaning is dangerous. Water can build up under the vehicle's tires so they actually ride on the water. This can happen if the road is wet enough and you are going fast enough. When the vehicle is hydroplaning, it has little or no contact with the road.

There is no hard and fast rule about hydroplaning. The best advice is to slow down when the road is wet.

Other Rainy Weather Tips

Besides slowing down, other wet weather driving tips include:

- Allow extra following distance.

- Pass with caution.

- Keep windshield wiping equipment in good shape.

- Keep the windshield washer fluid reservoir filled.

- Have good tires with proper tread depth. See Tires.

- Turn off cruise control.

    See also:

    When It Is Time for New Tires
    Factors such as maintenance, temperatures, driving speeds, vehicle loading, and road conditions affect the wear rate of the tires. Treadwear indicators are one way to tell when it is time for ...

    Steering Wheel Adjustment
    To adjust the steering wheel: 1. Pull the lever down. 2. Move the steering wheel up or down. 3. Pull or push the steering wheel closer or away from you. 4. Pull the lever up to lock the stee ...

    Adaptive cruise control
    The XLR will be among the first vehicles with adaptive cruise control (ACC). While not a substitute for full driver attention, this system greatly expands the convenience of cruise control. ACC us ...