Tell us your aquaplaning stories
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Very wet Sunday evening in November on the M40, Subaru Impreza Turbo, pootling along, brake lights ahead so start to apply the brakes to slow down a little, bit of a wobble tried to correct and then I'm spinning round across all three lanes. Slid backwards into the side of a lorry and then somehow ended up on the hard shoulder.
Car was a write off although we did managed to limp the rest of the way home with it. Nobody stopped to see if we were okay, not even the lorry though who knows if they even realised we hit them. Simplified the insurance claim if nothing else.
Tips to avoid this sort of thing - that was the one and only set of Toyo tyres I will ever put on a car, cr*p is an understatement.
Car was a write off although we did managed to limp the rest of the way home with it. Nobody stopped to see if we were okay, not even the lorry though who knows if they even realised we hit them. Simplified the insurance claim if nothing else.
Tips to avoid this sort of thing - that was the one and only set of Toyo tyres I will ever put on a car, cr*p is an understatement.
Last week, just about to come off the M42 onto the M6 and I'm in lane 4 doing about 60mph in the pouring down rain. I'm quite happy in the rain and don't do any sudden inputs when I hit standing water as I don't want to upset the car.
Most of the traffic is staying at the same pace as the cars in lane 4 (about 60mph), but there is lots of rain, lots of spray, lots of puddles, and the odd bit of 'getting a bit light' through them, hence a slower-than-normal cruising speed and bigger gaps to cars in front.
About a mile away from the junction and the car in front gets a bit of a twitch on as he hits standing water and throws up a huge plume of spray. So I lift off a little bit more and increase the gap.
Car in lane 3 who has been keeping a steady pace behind a truck decides that there's now a big enough gap between me and the car in front for him to safely overtake the truck.
Car indicates & pulls out (all in one motion), catches a bit of the puddle as he comes into lane 4 and then decides to slam on. Now I haver to slam on to avoid going into the back of him, but I'm doing so right in front of the standing water, which sends me into a spin across the 4 lanes and into the hard shoulder kerb & barrier.
Car is in the garage being 'assessed' right now. Hoping it will be repaired as I've heard horror stories of how little they'd offer if it gets written off (i.e. 75% of what they're currently selling for). Will obviously go down as a 'fault' claim as the other driver/witnesses didn't stop and there's no chance of any useful CCTV footage from the overhead gantry as they only house speed cameras (not switched showing any reduced speed limit at the time though).
Most of the traffic is staying at the same pace as the cars in lane 4 (about 60mph), but there is lots of rain, lots of spray, lots of puddles, and the odd bit of 'getting a bit light' through them, hence a slower-than-normal cruising speed and bigger gaps to cars in front.
About a mile away from the junction and the car in front gets a bit of a twitch on as he hits standing water and throws up a huge plume of spray. So I lift off a little bit more and increase the gap.
Car in lane 3 who has been keeping a steady pace behind a truck decides that there's now a big enough gap between me and the car in front for him to safely overtake the truck.
Car indicates & pulls out (all in one motion), catches a bit of the puddle as he comes into lane 4 and then decides to slam on. Now I haver to slam on to avoid going into the back of him, but I'm doing so right in front of the standing water, which sends me into a spin across the 4 lanes and into the hard shoulder kerb & barrier.
Car is in the garage being 'assessed' right now. Hoping it will be repaired as I've heard horror stories of how little they'd offer if it gets written off (i.e. 75% of what they're currently selling for). Will obviously go down as a 'fault' claim as the other driver/witnesses didn't stop and there's no chance of any useful CCTV footage from the overhead gantry as they only house speed cameras (not switched showing any reduced speed limit at the time though).
Many many years ago (1990ish) I was driving home on the m621 out of Leeds in my vauzhall chevette. It had been torrentially raining earlier but it had died back to a light drizzle. I was doing 65-70 in lane 2 as I had just passed a slower vehicle when I hit a massive puddle the car just lifted up wandered from Lane 2 across to the hard shoulder, then back across to lane 3 then back to lane 2 with my arse twitching like a rabbits nose. The only thing I did was to keep the wheel pointing straight ahead and kept everything else where it was. I will never know how I didnt hit anything.
I had just picked up a used car for a friend. The back tyres where worn badly but looked legal-ish. The very first roundabout I hit (it was pissing down all day), clipped a puddle on the roundabout and all of a sudden I had the car at a 60degree angle to the direction of travel with the wheel full lock left and the accelerator booted, I was lucky I was in 2nd when it happened, and that FWDs are so easy to get sorted. 
. I drove it VERY carefully the rest of the way home and told him to sort the tyres immediately.
. I drove it VERY carefully the rest of the way home and told him to sort the tyres immediately.Couple of years ago driving my Z32 300ZX east on the M8 towards Edinburgh and out of the blue there's a large area of standing water.
I didn't think much of it and was doing maybe 75 and I knew my tyres, while not brand new, were in good shape.
The front was fine but the tail parted contact with the tarmac and started to slew onto the hard shoulder where it regained grip and switched me the other way but managed to catch it more out of luck than anything.
I guess it wasn't that dramatic but I was clenching all the way home and I'm just thankful as it could've been a whole helluva lot worse.
I didn't think much of it and was doing maybe 75 and I knew my tyres, while not brand new, were in good shape.
The front was fine but the tail parted contact with the tarmac and started to slew onto the hard shoulder where it regained grip and switched me the other way but managed to catch it more out of luck than anything.
I guess it wasn't that dramatic but I was clenching all the way home and I'm just thankful as it could've been a whole helluva lot worse.
Not water but year ago, heading along the M56 in sub-zero temperatures, we got to the M6 flyover and without ground underneath the road, the road suddenly became sheet ice. The guy in front was in an MGF, braked and immediately started spinning 360 after 360, totally out of control. All I could see were the white of his eyes as big as saucers with each revolution. He eventually stopped spinning opened the door and vomited all over the road (which probably froze on impact...or helped defrost the road??)
Have to confess I laughed so hard I nearly shat.
Have to confess I laughed so hard I nearly shat.
Back when I had just bought the Jimny as a winter hack and as I hadn't had it long I hadn't changed the tyres - which were around nine years old!
Heading down a winding hill towards Lamberhurst (E.Sussex) and as I was taking a long sweeping left hander the car in front decided to anchor down, with oncoming traffic coming up the hill the other way. Jimny is RWD until selected otherwise, and coupled with almost no weight over the rear axle the back just came round, we're talking Formula Drift style. I was without a doubt a passenger to this as I applied as much lock as poss and just rode it out for what seemed like an eternity, whilst cars ducked out the way of my backside side swiping them. After many beeps and the change to a right hander the thing came back in line.
A good set of tyres later and all was well
Heading down a winding hill towards Lamberhurst (E.Sussex) and as I was taking a long sweeping left hander the car in front decided to anchor down, with oncoming traffic coming up the hill the other way. Jimny is RWD until selected otherwise, and coupled with almost no weight over the rear axle the back just came round, we're talking Formula Drift style. I was without a doubt a passenger to this as I applied as much lock as poss and just rode it out for what seemed like an eternity, whilst cars ducked out the way of my backside side swiping them. After many beeps and the change to a right hander the thing came back in line.
A good set of tyres later and all was well
M6 toll a few years back. Early Saturday morning, heavy rain, no traffic, cruising in L1 mid 80’s and hit a patch of standing water. Slight twitch from the front, followed by the rear just going round. Car did a 540 across 3 lanes and I eventually came to a stop facing the wrong way in L3, somehow not having hit anything.
Managed to quickly get to the hard shoulder, where I sat quietly shaking for 10 minutes while my heart rate subsided. Then continued on at 60.
Checked the rear tyres when I got to my destination, and both were down to the indicators on the insides
Managed to quickly get to the hard shoulder, where I sat quietly shaking for 10 minutes while my heart rate subsided. Then continued on at 60.
Checked the rear tyres when I got to my destination, and both were down to the indicators on the insides
Late at night on an empty road back in 1997 Ford Mk4 Escort RSturbo running 15" 195 50 tyres, on the way down from Aberdeen near Montrose where the road has a concrete surface for a section as it flows downhill to a dip slight dip at the bottom.
Terrible rain and standing water but with 80k miles at the wheel of this car, continuing on with too much confidence in 5th gear at 100+ mph.
At the bottom of the dip, I hit such a big unsighted puddle that the car immediately lost contact with the road and I knew that I was totally out of control. Car started a light drift of the nose towards the concrete central reservation. Tried to stay as calm and soft on the controls as possible praying that the tyres would eventually cut through the water to the road, allowing me to correct the heading. After 3 seconds of floating I realised this was a massive puddle so I had to lift off the throttle. The drag of the water was so much that the wheels stopped turning when I lifted of the throttle and the car stalled and the ignition lights came on.
There I was travelling physically forward at somewhere a little below 100mph at this point with front wheels completely stationery and the engine stalled and the ignition lights on... scary as and a great lesson learned by an overly confident young man. Never been in a similar situation since.
Steven RW
Terrible rain and standing water but with 80k miles at the wheel of this car, continuing on with too much confidence in 5th gear at 100+ mph.
At the bottom of the dip, I hit such a big unsighted puddle that the car immediately lost contact with the road and I knew that I was totally out of control. Car started a light drift of the nose towards the concrete central reservation. Tried to stay as calm and soft on the controls as possible praying that the tyres would eventually cut through the water to the road, allowing me to correct the heading. After 3 seconds of floating I realised this was a massive puddle so I had to lift off the throttle. The drag of the water was so much that the wheels stopped turning when I lifted of the throttle and the car stalled and the ignition lights came on.
There I was travelling physically forward at somewhere a little below 100mph at this point with front wheels completely stationery and the engine stalled and the ignition lights on... scary as and a great lesson learned by an overly confident young man. Never been in a similar situation since.
Steven RW
First and only close shave when I was 17 in my Mum's Polo.
Just through the Clyde Tunnel, the roundabout that takes you onto the sliproad to the M8 towards Glasgow Airport, doing about 20mph because it was bucketing down all day. I hit a patch of water just after I started turning resulting in a 540 spin and me sitting on the grass shaking.
Thankfully there wasn't a soul about, it was a stupid time on a Sunday night but it taught me to respect the rain!
Just through the Clyde Tunnel, the roundabout that takes you onto the sliproad to the M8 towards Glasgow Airport, doing about 20mph because it was bucketing down all day. I hit a patch of water just after I started turning resulting in a 540 spin and me sitting on the grass shaking.
Thankfully there wasn't a soul about, it was a stupid time on a Sunday night but it taught me to respect the rain!
My wife wrote off my 3-Series Coupe around 8 years ago on a trip over the M62 from Manchester to Leeds. She passed a lorry which kicked up a load of spray, sending our car into a spin. We hit the central reservation on the passenger side and ended up in the middle lane facing incoming traffic. I still vividly remember two things about it; firstly the almost serene initial feeling of the car losing traction and going into a spin, and secondly the feeling knowing we were OK, countered by an almost immediate realisation that we were sat in the middle lane of a motorway.
Last sunday, autobahn near Berlin, middle lane in my Alfa 159 2,4 Jtdm Sportwagen. Easy left hander @ ~ 160 km/h when the rear end started to overtake. After some left-right-left-right action the electronics an I caught it.
Luckily I was verry concentrated due to the conditions. Upright position, both hands on the wheel, feet on the pedalse, no music. Was still quite a brown trousers moment an I was verry happy to have no passenger in the car.
Luckily I was verry concentrated due to the conditions. Upright position, both hands on the wheel, feet on the pedalse, no music. Was still quite a brown trousers moment an I was verry happy to have no passenger in the car.
MrHargreaves said:
spray? really?
I thought the same. I've been hit by the deluge thrown up by a massive puddle hit by a truck. Other than a loud crashing noise as the wave hit the windscreen and an inability to see for about 4 swipes of the windscreen wipers, I didn't feel the car move or behave any differently than I was guiding it to do via the controls.RW
I've had a few in the Elise, usually the rear-end lifting due to the wider tyres.
There's no skill in recovering, really. Either grip comes back whilst you're still on the road and pointing vaguely forwards, in which can you're fine; or it doesn't, in which case you're wrapped around a tree. The worst I've had was about 50m of rear-end aquaplaning on a motorway bend and it was basically a simple question of steering into it and hoping the back wheels regained traction before the front wheels ran out of hard-shoulder. 10m more standing water and I'd have been off the road at about 40-50 mph.
Always, always put the tyres which are best at dispersing water on the rear axle if you can. As long as the rear stays in contact with the road, you can keep the car pointing in the right direction so if grip on the floating axle does come back you can recover.
There's no skill in recovering, really. Either grip comes back whilst you're still on the road and pointing vaguely forwards, in which can you're fine; or it doesn't, in which case you're wrapped around a tree. The worst I've had was about 50m of rear-end aquaplaning on a motorway bend and it was basically a simple question of steering into it and hoping the back wheels regained traction before the front wheels ran out of hard-shoulder. 10m more standing water and I'd have been off the road at about 40-50 mph.
Always, always put the tyres which are best at dispersing water on the rear axle if you can. As long as the rear stays in contact with the road, you can keep the car pointing in the right direction so if grip on the floating axle does come back you can recover.
Edited by kambites on Friday 11th December 14:55
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