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Internet Myths -- Cruise Control In
The Rain
| I had a wreck
a couple of weeks ago and totaled our Lincoln Town Car. I hydroplaned
on Hwy 135 between Gladewater & Kilgore, Texas. I was not hurt, just
emotionally rattled! ... I learned a lesson I'd like to pass on to you.
- The only true email chain letter |
There is only one true email hoax, just to show it's the exception
that proves the rule.
There have been uncounted billions of hoax emails circulated
around the Internet since it's creation, but, just to keep things
interesting, there is at least one email
with all the usual earmarks of a hoax that is actually true
and potentially a useful safety tip.
The "cruise control in the rain" email
began circulating in November 2002, and claims it
is unsafe to drive a car using automated cruise control in the rain. While
it is unknown if the story in the email is true, it is true that it is unsafe
to use cruise control during a rain, or
afterwards
while the
roads are still slick or puddles of water remain. The reasoning
is that if if the wheels hydroplane on the water where there is no traction
they
can unpredictably
change speed, putting the car's stability at risk both then and again as
the wheel regains contact with the dry road with lots of traction designed
in.
Resources. The following sites provide information about this true
myth:
