Blowouts Hydroplaning And How To Reduce Risk

All it takes to disrupt your daily drive around Pensacola, FL is one badly-placed pothole or a little bit of water that sends you and your car sliding dangerously out of control. Blowouts and hydroplaning can be very scary ordeals for most drivers. Luckily, it also doesn’t take much to safely steer your vehicle to safety.

Reduce Your Speed

The last place you want to experience a blowout or hydroplaning is while traveling on the freeway at high speeds. Because our ordinary reactions are magnified during stress or tension, the risk of a rollover is much greater at increased speeds.

Avoid Overcompensating

Avoiding overcompensating is the secret to maintaining control of your vehicle – in other words, don’t jerk the steering wheel nor slam on the brakes. Instead, hold the steering wheel steady and just lift your foot off the gas. After your car regains traction and you regain control, ease your way back into your lane or to the shoulder of the road.

Keep Tires In Good Condition

There are simple things you can do to decrease the risk of hydroplaning or blowout. Replacing worn tires before they reach their wear bars is important. Driving on worn tires increases both the chance that water will build up between the rubber and road (therefore, increasing the chance of hydroplaning) and that the tire will blowout when it hits a pothole. Having tires with a deeper tread will improve traction and decrease hydroplaning; furthermore, a properly inflated tire is less likely to suffer a blowout.

Look For Water In The Roads

The risk of hydroplaning is greater any time there’s water on the road, and occurs more frequently on older roads with ruts and non-porous surfaces. Be very careful when you’re traveling in situations like these, and especially if traveling at speeds over 60 MPH. Slow down whenever possible, and always drive defensively.

The experienced technicians at Evans Automotive are always happy to inspect your tires to keep you safely on the road. Contact us online or call us.