2. Cruise Control Warning
A
36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her
car. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly
began to hydro-plane 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 thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the wet weather.
But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on
when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tyres lose contact with
the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making
you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly
what had occurred. 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 at a safe speed - but we don't tell them to
use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry. NOTE:
Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you
to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.
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