As we get ready to say goodbye to March, we get ready to say hello to April and we all know the saying “April showers bring May flowers,” so it’s pretty safe that some rain storms are coming our way. Whether the storms you run into are crazy or just light, traveling in the rain can become very dangerous. In fact, the first ten minutes of light rain can be the most dangerous, because when light rain mixes with oil and residue on the road’s surface it creates a slippery condition that can cause your vehicle to slide. Yes, traveling in a storm where the rain is coming down so hard you can’t see is dangerous, but traveling in light rain can be just as dangerous.

With that in mind, we are talking about hydroplaning and how to avoid it. What is Hydroplaning? Well, hydroplaning is the skidding or sliding of your vehicle’s tires across a wet surface…similar to sliding on ice. The same idea is that it’s hard to get control of your vehicle because your tires don’t have anything to grip. Pretty scary, right? That’s why we want you to take a few minutes to read our helpful tips for avoiding hydroplaning below!

How To Avoid Hydroplaning:

1. Keep your tires properly inflated
2. Rotate and replace tires when necessary
3. Slow down when roads are wet: the faster you drive, the harder it is for your tires to scatter the water
4. Stay away from puddles and standing water
5. Avoid driving in outer lanes where water tends to accumulate
6. Try to drive in the tire tracks left by the cars in front of you
7. Turn off cruise control
8. Drive in a lower gear
9. Avoid hard braking
10. Try not to make sharp or quick turns