Your thoughts on this issue related to cruise control
Auto Tech
of it?
------------------------------
This is DANGEROUS....I wonder how many people know about this ~
A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her
car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas, she was traveling between
Gladewater & Kilgore. 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 rain. But the highway
patrolman told her if the cruise control is on when your car begins to
hydro-plane and your tires 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 a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use
the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.
The only person the accident victim found who knew this (besides the
patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car
and sustained severe injuries.
hls
"Auto Tech" <autote...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b19f8874-dff9-4c08...@z34g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
> You may have seen this before as an e-mail forward. What do you think
> of it?
http://www.snopes.com/autos/techno/wetroad.asp
Our Avalon has the laser cruise control. At the first few drops of rain,
it shuts off.....an annoying, but probably safety minded, feature.
If you are of a mind to do so, you can activate the traditional cruise
control
and it will function in the rain. I have done this a number of times, but
now
have learned a lesson.
E. Meyer
b19f8874-dff9-4c08...@z34g2000vbl.googlegroups.com, "Auto
Tech" <autote...@yahoo.com> wrote:
This warning was printed in the owner's manual of my '63 Oldsmobile, the
second car I had that was equipped with cruise (the first was a '60 Chrysler
Imperial), back in the days when the owner's manuals weren't yet 90% CYA
lawyer inspired warnings. I thought everybody knew this. I always told my
kids to never use it in the rain (or ice, or snow).
Cruise control was a thrill on the '63 Olds anyway. That was the model with
the Perfect Circle unit that would occasionally simply grab the accelerator
& yank it to the floor, even when it was supposedly turned off. One of the
first safety recalls if I remember correctly, after a few little old ladies
got launched through their garage walls by their Cadillacs.
Don Stauffer
control. If it does not, then indeed do not use cruise control in rain.
Now, if the car has cruise control, the issue is whether the control
system for the cruise control invokes traction control. It may be hard
to find this out, however. If you are not sure, again it is probably
better to avoid using it.
One has to use some judgement, though. Hydroplaning happens if there is
standing water, not just a damp surface. So if it is just a sprinkle-
no standing water, then merely keep an eye on it and if you see puddles
forming turn the CC off.
Scott Dorsey
>I think another thing to consider here is whether the car has traction
>control. If it does not, then indeed do not use cruise control in rain.
>
>Now, if the car has cruise control, the issue is whether the control
>system for the cruise control invokes traction control. It may be hard
>to find this out, however. If you are not sure, again it is probably
>better to avoid using it.
So, we get traction control so that we can safely use cruise control in
the rain. Are we going to get some kind of steering control so that we
can safely use traction control?
Sooner or later.. it all comes down to paying attention or not.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."
Steve
> Sooner or later.. it all comes down to paying attention or not.
> --scott
>
That one is worthy of a .sig
As for the original story, it has the air of an urban myth (car "taking
off like an airplane??" Get real!) But the truth is that s'pose you do
hit a puddle while the cruise is on- the front wheels hit first and
slow the car (neglecting whether or not they hydroplane for the moment).
The cruise applies a little more power to maintain speed about when the
rear wheels hit the water, so that now there is added engine torque
trying to break them free just as they meet a great risk of
hydroplaning. Once they start spinning, the cruise will keep them
turning the same RPM regardless of the car's actual speed, making sure
they *keep* spinning.
So the odds of losing control are definitely increased because of the
action of the cruise control, but "take off like an airplane?" That's a
bit ridiculous.
hls
"Steve" <n...@spam.thanks> wrote in message
> So the odds of losing control are definitely increased because of the
> action of the cruise control, but "take off like an airplane?" That's a
> bit ridiculous.
Hyperbole is not unusual to this group.
Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS
e2e577...@z34g2000vbl.googlegroups.com:
> You may have seen this before as an e-mail forward. What do you think
> of it?
>
> ------------------------------
>
> This is DANGEROUS....I wonder how many people know about this ~
>
> A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her
> car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas, she was traveling between
> Gladewater & Kilgore. 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.
>
Cruise control should be banned. It's there simply because the auto makers
make a bundle off it and the idiot public has been brainwashed into
thinking they have to have it.
Kevin Bottorff
$815e...@news.qwest.net:
> I think another thing to consider here is whether the car has traction
> control. If it does not, then indeed do not use cruise control in rain.
>
> Now, if the car has cruise control, the issue is whether the control
> system for the cruise control invokes traction control. It may be hard
> to find this out, however. If you are not sure, again it is probably
> better to avoid using it.
>
> One has to use some judgement, though. Hydroplaning happens if there
is
> standing water, not just a damp surface. So if it is just a sprinkle-
> no standing water, then merely keep an eye on it and if you see puddles
> forming turn the CC off.
That is of course completley wrong! the first rain drops combine with
the natural film of oil on the road and make it more slipery than after a
good rain. at the first sign of moisture the cruse should be off. KB
Tim Wescott
If it doesn't have a date and information on the periodical it was
originally published in then it's a rumor, and not something you should
give much weight to. _Any_ unattributed email or news posting should
bring the needle of your BS-O-meter well off of zero.
And if the car is "hydroplaning" it can't have "literally flew through
the air" -- the two are mutually exclusive, for a variety of reasons.
Given that, This statement should bring the needle of your BS-O-meter
pretty close to the peg.
So why are you forwarding material that pegs the needle of your BS-O-
meter? Or, if your BS-O-meter needs a new battery, why are you
forwarding material at all?
_Any_ closed-loop feedback control system has a process variable that the
designer _really_ wants to control, a measurement of the process variable
that the controller can see, and a command variable that the controller
actually pushes around. In the case of cruise control the process
variable is the speed, the command variable is (directly or indirectly)
the throttle setting, and the measurement of speed could be taken from a
variety of sources.
A cruise control that regulates the speed of the car by sensing the speed
of the driven wheels won't run away like that, although it may surge to
an astonishing degree if the wheels lose enough traction. The reason is
because the measured speed is the driven wheel speed; if the car was
going to go faster than the wheel speed then you're in deep **** anyway.
The only way that a closed-loop system could run away as described would
be if the system is sensing the speed of the non-driven wheels, _and_ if
those non-driven wheels are going slower than the actual speed of the car
-- then the controller will 'try' to increase the speed of the car even
though it's already correct.
What _is_ sensible is that in slippery conditions you shouldn't be
driving at a constant speed! If you start to hydroplane and you're the
least bit sensible you take your foot OFF the gas, GENTLY, and let the
car slow down. Cruise control won't do this -- it'll maintain speed like
it's designed. That's not "running away", but it's certainly going much
faster than it should be, and would seem like running away to someone who
slows down on slippery roads without really thinking about it.
So don't forward any more BS, but don't trust your car to drive for you
in the rain and snow.
Jim Warman
with people that unconciously move their right foot ever so slightly in time
to music. Also, for most corrections cruise control is quite gentle -
sometimes nearly transparent.
I can assure you that I am neither idiot nor brainwashed and I find that
cruise can be a Godsend on highway trips... especially when we consider ones
natural tendency to increase pressure on the throttle as time passes.
FWIW... as much as we both abhor them, speeders and drunk drivers aren't
murderers until they've actually killed someone. But you would like to ban a
device that helps reduce the incidence of speeding by making it easy to
maintain a preset speed.
Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS
news:tKcnm.42082$Db2.85@edtnps83:
>
> FWIW... as much as we both abhor them, speeders and drunk drivers
> aren't murderers until they've actually killed someone. But you would
> like to ban a device that helps reduce the incidence of speeding by
> making it easy to maintain a preset speed.
BS. The drivers are in a 60 and set cc at 80. How does that stop
speeding???
hls
"Tim Wescott" <t...@seemywebsite.com> wrote in message
news:nqednd8_lo36ygDX...@web-ster.com...
> So don't forward any more BS, but don't trust your car to drive for you
> in the rain and snow.
This is a help and discussion forum, and his post was not out of line.
Jim Warman
If someone is going to go faster than the posted speed, I'm pretty sure they
will do it with or without the aid of cruise control.
Flawed logic has gotten the world into far more trouble than it will ever
get the world out of
Cruise control can reduce or eliminate unintentional speeding... If someone
is determined to speed, cruise control plays no part what-so-ever....
My God,,, people like you are allowed to vote....
"Speeders & Drunk Drivers are MURDERERS" <xeto...@yahoo.com> wrote in
message news:Xns9C797B894A6E8r...@216.168.3.70...
necromancer
>Cruise control should be banned. It's there simply because the auto makers
>make a bundle off it and the idiot public has been brainwashed into
>thinking they have to have it.
You can't afford a new car anyways, so you your opinion on this matter
is irrelevent (much like your opinion on everything else).
BTW, I love cruise control. Ther's nothing like setting the cruise at
5 under the limit while passing through some rinkey-dink little town
and watching that cop in my rearview mirror pounding his steering
wheel in frustration.
--
"There's not a shred of evidence that the jerries murdered anything
close to 7 million jooz. Another monstrous lie just like the 9-11
official story. "
-- Laura Bush murdered her boyfriend, 12/01/2004
Ref: http://tinyurl.com/9oog5
Message-ID: <780ea958.04113...@posting.google.com>
Auto Tech
> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:36:02 -0700, Auto Tech wrote:
> If it doesn't have a date and information on the periodical it was
> originally published in then it's a rumor, and not something you should
> give much weight to. _Any_ unattributed email or news posting should
> bring the needle of your BS-O-meter well off of zero.
Oh it did. This has been floating around for years. Someone sent it to
me yet again recently and I've been debating them over the merits of
what strikes me as cartoon physics and auto-tech issues within the
story that ignore certain realities of how CC generally works, what
the overall road environment is likely to be if hydroplaning or
slipping on ice is an issue. I decided to post it in some auto forums
to see what kinds of feedback it inspired so this other party would
see that it's not just me that sees a degree of b.s. in it.
My position is that the primary problem isn't cruise control but not
adjusting for diminished conditions. If you're hydroplaning you're
going too fast. You lose a small amount of time to decel with the
cruise on that would otherwise happen as soon as your foot comes off
the gas but you should have been slowed to begin with. The story
demonizes CC without really addressing the fundamental issue, and
actually obscuring it. The story indicates she was driving at a "safe
speed" but apparently not.
Tim Wescott
> On Sep 1, 1:18 pm, Tim Wescott <t...@seemywebsite.com> wrote:
>> On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:36:02 -0700, Auto Tech wrote:
>
>> If it doesn't have a date and information on the periodical it was
>> originally published in then it's a rumor, and not something you should
>> give much weight to. _Any_ unattributed email or news posting should
>> bring the needle of your BS-O-meter well off of zero.
>
>
> Oh it did. This has been floating around for years. Someone sent it to
> me yet again recently and I've been debating them over the merits of
> what strikes me as cartoon physics and auto-tech issues within the story
> that ignore certain realities of how CC generally works, what the
> overall road environment is likely to be if hydroplaning or slipping on
> ice is an issue. I decided to post it in some auto forums to see what
> kinds of feedback it inspired so this other party would see that it's
> not just me that sees a degree of b.s. in it.
It sounds like something that would come up in Reader's Digest.
I didn't see the original publication info in your post, so I assumed you
just got it anonymously.
>
> My position is that the primary problem isn't cruise control but not
> adjusting for diminished conditions. If you're hydroplaning you're going
> too fast. You lose a small amount of time to decel with the cruise on
> that would otherwise happen as soon as your foot comes off the gas but
> you should have been slowed to begin with. The story demonizes CC
> without really addressing the fundamental issue, and actually obscuring
> it. The story indicates she was driving at a "safe speed" but apparently
> not.
I think we agree on that point, then. The problem with cruise control
isn't what it does to the car, the problem is that it takes away the
deadman switch, and lets the car go full speed while the driver's
attention wanders. About the only time I use it is when I'm on flat
empty road and I'm constantly exceeding my comfortable speed (and I'm
driving someone else's car) -- then I'll use it just to keep me from a
ticket.
tn...@mucks.net
>What _is_ sensible is that in slippery conditions you shouldn't be
>driving at a constant speed! If you start to hydroplane and you're the
>least bit sensible you take your foot OFF the gas, GENTLY, and let the
>car slow down. Cruise control won't do this -- it'll maintain speed like
>it's designed. That's not "running away", but it's certainly going much
>faster than it should be, and would seem like running away to someone who
>slows down on slippery roads without really thinking about it.
It can be termed running away. This just happened to me a couple of
years ago. I never gave a thought about using cruise control on wet
pavement until my blazer did go out of control.
I was just cruising along at 50mph down the right hand lane of a five
lane highway. Puddles were forming in the right hand lane. Evidently I
started to hydroplane. The truck slowed and turned slightly sideways.
The wheel speed seemed to increase also.
After passing through the puddle the combination of a slightly
sideways truck and over speeding tires took hold of the road, but not
evenly. One rear tire seemed to grab the road and send the truck into
an immediate turn. I tried to correct, but with the cruise control in
charge of the accelerator and me in charged of trying to straighten
the truck out it became a perpetual right/left, right/ left over
correction fight between me and the cruise.
I only gained control by quickly shutting the cruise down. Once done
the perpetual right/left, right/left could be stopped.
John David Galt
> You may have seen this before as an e-mail forward. What do you think
> of it?
If this happens, it is a defect in the cruise control and the affected
vehicles should be recalled and fixed. Normal cruise controls do not
behave that way, and it's not worthwhile for drivers to take any
precautions against it.
Frank ess
Which forum is that?
Last week a CHP officer, off duty and driving a loaner Lexus, was
killed along with others of his family. Early reports were that the
driver could not control the speed of the car. Someone actually called
911 from the speeding vehicle just before the crash.
http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/aug/31/bn31chp-lexus-crash/?metro&zIndex=158181
or
http://preview.tinyurl.com/m67odj
I never paid much attention to cruise control, even though I had two
cars with the option. Then it became something of a habit, in my most
recent three cars. It still scares me, but I use it only in fair
weather, on long, uninterrupted stretches, with little traffic. And it
still scares me.
Nice motive for the original post. My view, you ought to take it for
what it was: a warning to be careful who and what you depend on. Try
not to be so technically literal. Find the value, and say "Thanks",
offer a careful, thoughtful, calm suggestion if you have one.
--
Frank ess
hls
"Frank ess" <fr...@fshe2fs.com> wrote in message
>>
>> This is a help and discussion forum, and his post was not out of
>> line.
>
> Which forum is that?
The forum that you are reading right now. That is what these newsgroups
are.
He was not out of line.
This was crossposted to a number of newsgroups, all of them having to do
with
automobiles and driving. There is nothing wrong with that either.
If you dont like it, dont read it.
harry k
Exactly. In spite of Snopes claiming it is true, it isn't. The CC
will maintain the drive wheel speed that is set. If the car loses
some speed while hydroplaning, the drive wheels will still be going
the set speed and will accelerate the car back _to that speed_ when
traction is regained. If, for example, you were cruising 60 before
hydroplaning, you will accelerte back up to 60 after it. That is
all. Hardly "like an airplane". Basically. It's BS.
Yes, best to dturn it off in heavy rain but not for that idiot reason.
Harry K
MLD
<tn...@mucks.net> wrote in message
news:e60r951d4q5kr3cki...@4ax.com...
Interesting, dramatic story. You mean during all the time you were fighting
off the instability-right/left etc- you never tapped the brakes? Would have
been a lot faster and simpler than playing around with the cruise control
function lever.
MLD
harry k
>
> - Show quoted text -
If you can't maintain your attention while using CC, then you
shouldn't be driving at all. CC is a valuable tool, gets better
mileage than you do and maintains a set speed far better than any
'manual' driver. Nothing is more annoying than following someone down
the road who is not maintaining a set speed.
Harry K
Frank ess
Frank ess
Oops. Quite a challenge, there, liking or not liking before reading.
I was just interested in knowing which of the newsgroups the post was
originated in.
If you don't have a civil answer to a straightforward question, don't
respond to it.
--
Frank ess
from autos.makers.ford.mustang
The Real Bev
> If you can't maintain your attention while using CC, then you
> shouldn't be driving at all. CC is a valuable tool, gets better
> mileage than you do and maintains a set speed far better than any
> 'manual' driver.
You get better mileage at a set throttle position, not speed. Maddening on uphills.
> Nothing is more annoying than following someone down
> the road who is not maintaining a set speed.
He's probably maintaining a set throttle position :-)
--
Cheers, Bev
=====================================================
"You can make a signature quote seem authoritative by
attributing it to a famous person." --- Sun Tzu
tn...@mucks.net
No! Tapping the brake when the car is already out of control could of
made the situation worse. I consciously bypassed the brake and went
directly for the switch.
Jim Warman
usual caveates regarding cruise control operation in the owners manual... If
there is a defect in the car, it is in the fact that it will allow itself to
be driven by someone unfamiliar with the contents of the owners manual.
What most people need to realize is that a car is a piece of machinery...
nnothing more - nothing less. Operate it unsafely or operate it without
exercising due care and attention (like, maybe, detereorating road
conditions) can and will have life altering consequences. The sooner people
return to accepting the reponsibility for their own actions or
omissions......
Every time they make something more idiot proof, we cultivate a "better"
breed of idiot...
"John David Galt" <j...@diogenes.sacramento.ca.us> wrote in message
news:h7kbss$508$1...@blue.rahul.net...
harry k
Yep, and at a set throttle position, his speed varies up and down
hills :).
Harry K
hls
I saw your post neither as straightforward or civil. If I were wrong, you
have my
apology.
Hachiroku ハチロク
>>What _is_ sensible is that in slippery conditions you shouldn't be
>>driving at a constant speed! If you start to hydroplane and you're the
>>least bit sensible you take your foot OFF the gas, GENTLY, and let the
>>car slow down. Cruise control won't do this -- it'll maintain speed like
>>it's designed. That's not "running away", but it's certainly going much
>>faster than it should be, and would seem like running away to someone who
>>slows down on slippery roads without really thinking about it.
>
> It can be termed running away. This just happened to me a couple of
> years ago. I never gave a thought about using cruise control on wet
> pavement until my blazer did go out of control.
Hate to say this, but that sounds more like driving too fast for
conditions.
If you were going to use the cruise, you should have set it at least 5 mph
slower.
Or, not use it at all.
tn...@mucks.net
wrote:
>On Tue, 01 Sep 2009 16:41:15 -0400, tnom wrote:
>
>>>What _is_ sensible is that in slippery conditions you shouldn't be
>>>driving at a constant speed! If you start to hydroplane and you're the
>>>least bit sensible you take your foot OFF the gas, GENTLY, and let the
>>>car slow down. Cruise control won't do this -- it'll maintain speed like
>>>it's designed. That's not "running away", but it's certainly going much
>>>faster than it should be, and would seem like running away to someone who
>>>slows down on slippery roads without really thinking about it.
>>
>> It can be termed running away. This just happened to me a couple of
>> years ago. I never gave a thought about using cruise control on wet
>> pavement until my blazer did go out of control.
>
>Hate to say this, but that sounds more like driving too fast for
>conditions.
How would you know this? Crystal ball?
>If you were going to use the cruise, you should have set it at least 5 mph
>slower.
5 mph slower than what? Seeing how you seem to know what speed it
was?
>Or, not use it at all.
>
When the road is wet I agree.
Nick Naim
<tn...@mucks.net> wrote in message
news:8nu8a5lo4did48dpp...@4ax.com...
Late?.....pull out 3 lites earlier........
Ad absurdum per aspera
I think the combination of cruise control and hydroplaning is risky,
but the customary explanation of *why* is just a bit off the mark.
Here's what gets me. Barring some completely batso level of GPS
integration, cruise control has no idea how fast you are going. All
it knows is how fast you *ought* to be going, based on RPM. Unless
I'm missing something, If RPM goes up (as when your drive wheels are
not getting traction regardless of the reason), then it ought to infer
that speed has increased, and close the throttle to lower your
(fictitious) speed, right?
What I *am* willing to believe is that if the cruise control doesn't
have time to trip off before you're done with the hydroplaning or
other traction loss, your tires bite down unexpectedly and propel you
along whatever vector the hydroplaning left you on. This is perhaps a
lot more likely with cruise control than with a well educated right
foot.
If further traction is iffy and control is too -- and if, like most
drivers, your knowledge of how to recover from a skid is largely
theoretical and not broached since Driver's Ed -- this could get
interesting rapidly, especially in traffic. For that matter,
hydroplaning can be a rude surprise even if you are pretty good in the
chair. If you can't avoid it, best to avoid worsening it.
--Joe, who prefers being more involved in the driving experience
anyway and therefore seldom uses cruise control
Ad absurdum per aspera
Yeah, my computer gets absentminded as the night wears on. It
should have written what I meant, which was "RPM of the drive
wheels," instead of merely what I typed.
Anyway, my recollections of the couple of times I've hydroplaned are
that the car feels like it's in the hands of God, and He has a strange
sense of humor. Managed to slow down a bit first, hit the standing
water square-on, and avoid drastic control inputs; it came out okay.
Some situations, like "black ice" in its favorite natural habitat on
certain curves, can be not so good...
It probably helps to have at least halfway appropriate tires with a
decent amount of tread still on 'em. For sure, people with the air
showing through their tires, or who get caught in the rainy season (or
a cloudburst) with radical dry-road performance rubber, can really put
on a show.
--Joe
harry k
One of my most hair raising memories is the day I left Sault Ste Marie
Mich on leave headed for Spokane. Early in morning nice day and I was
making tracks around 65 on bare pavement. Entered a looonnng right
hand bend, totally shaded and saw the black ice. "Self", says I,
"don't touch ANYTHNG, don't let off the gas, don't touch the brake!" I
think the cheek pinch lines were still on the seat covers when I
traded it.
Harry K
John David Galt
> Here's what gets me. Barring some completely batso level of GPS
> integration, cruise control has no idea how fast you are going. All
> it knows is how fast you *ought* to be going, based on RPM. Unless
> I'm missing something, If RPM goes up (as when your drive wheels are
> not getting traction regardless of the reason), then it ought to infer
> that speed has increased, and close the throttle to lower your
> (fictitious) speed, right?
Cruise controls don't always work the same way. Most maintain speed
(usually measured by wheel RPM, not necessarily on a drive wheel), but
a few old ones maintain engine RPM. Most assume the only actions they
should take to maintain that speed are to apply the accelerator or not
apply the accelerator; a very few will brake or even change gears.
All are supposed to deactivate when you touch the brake pedal;
sometimes this feature doesn't work, while a few extend it so that
touching the accelerator, clutch, or gear selector will also turn the
CC off.
I agree with you about not wanting to use CC most of the time, except
when there is a too-low speed limit that I feel I must obey; then the
CC is a great way to avoid accidentally going faster.
harry k
wrote:
I can't recall the first car I had with CC but _every_ one of them
would shift down if needed. The CC has nothing to do with shifting,
the need to shift is detected by other engine components, the same
ones that will shift if you are climbing a hill or mash the
accelerator without CC. I have never had a car that would apply the
brake, Every one would shut down the CC if he engine rpm suddenly
rose high. My 89 ford does if I am under load coming up to a stop and
hit the clutch without turning off CC first.
Only masochist would drive long distance with the CC off unless it was
in heavy traffic where the 'flow' constantly changed. I will
sometimes do it to break the boredom for a period though.
Harry K
harry k
>
> - Show quoted text -
OOPPSS - I shouild have specified every vehicle I have had with CC AND
auto tranny would shift down. None of them with manual would
Harry K
Jeff Strickland
"Auto Tech" <autote...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:b19f8874-dff9-4c08...@z34g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...
> You may have seen this before as an e-mail forward. What do you think
> of it?
>
>
> This is DANGEROUS....I wonder how many people know about this ~
>
> A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her
> car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas, she was traveling between
> Gladewater & Kilgore. 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 rain. But the highway
> patrolman told her if the cruise control is on when your car begins to
> hydro-plane and your tires 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 a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use
> the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.
>
> The only person the accident victim found who knew this (besides the
> patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car
> and sustained severe injuries.
Pardon me for coming along 28 days later and butting in, but I thought
everybody would know not to drive in the rain or snow with the Cruise on.
Sort of like everybody knows not to stand on the very top step of a ladder,
or not to shower and blow-dry your hair at the same time, or bypass the
interlock switch on the microwave then watch the oatmeal boil. Or spitting
on the biggest son of a bitch in the bar.
There are things that one just does not do.
Steve
> but the customary explanation of *why* is just a bit off the mark.
>
> Here's what gets me. Barring some completely batso level of GPS
> integration, cruise control has no idea how fast you are going. All
> it knows is how fast you *ought* to be going, based on RPM. Unless
> I'm missing something, If RPM goes up (as when your drive wheels are
> not getting traction regardless of the reason), then it ought to infer
> that speed has increased, and close the throttle to lower your
> (fictitious) speed, right?
>
What actually happens is that the car itself slows down relative to the
road, but the cruise keeps the rear wheels turning the same speed.
Therefore, since the car has slowed, th rear wheels are now spinning.