OT, but about cars. Is this true?

[mm]

Someone wrote me:

But the highway patrolman told her that 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.

It seems to me that the cruise control doesn't know how fast you are going but it does know how fast the drive wheels are spinning and if you lose traction, they will start to spin faster, and the cruise will let off the accelerator umtil the tires slow down.

With almost no traction, as in hydroplaning, (which the cruise control will see as equivalent to going down a steep hill, where gravity cancels out drag) won't the engine speed have to drop dramatically, perhaps all the way to idling? And it won't go up again until the car regains traction.

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,

I will admit, that iirc, I don't use cruise on wet or icy pavement, but that is because I want full control of the car and think I can take my foot off the accelerator quicker than the cruise (which might not even be true. Which do you think is faster in decelerating, me or the cruise?), but I still don't think the cruise will make the car accelerate.

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. >If you send this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about >this, then it was all worth it. You might have saved a life. >NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not

Anyone know anything about this car. The post** seems like a hoax, but hoax writers often put in stuff like this to make it sound real.

**Well, actually the email I got had a lot of stuff in it, totally unrelated, nor related to cars or safety. And from a good guy who got it from a good guy, from a very good guy. I think someone was suckered.

allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are >on.

I found one page that says the car has wiper warmers, but didn't say anything about wipers and cruise. (although it would be harder to notice)

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Correct in most every case.

I use it all the time in light rain and when dry, but far less than the mile you state. Both my cars have traction control or stability control and the cruise control gets knocked off at the slightest hint of wheel slip. Not every car has that. ESC is really nifty. I was playing in the snow in our parking lot at work and it gives amazing control in slippery conditions.

[hallerb]

n the snow in our

at least my old car the cruise control speed was monitored by a gearbox in the speedmoter cable. i know because the gearbox failed and my speedometer went to zero

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Because I'm the world's best non-professional driver, the following doesn't apply to me: I'm convinced that on wide open highways with very little traffic, cruise control lulls people into a mental state similar to watching late night television when you know you really should just go to bed. So, people think they're being good drivers, but in fact, they're not.

[Doug Miller]

That is physically impossible. Think about it: if the tires no longer have contact with the pavement, they *cannot* accellerate the car. They'll just sit there and spin. Undoubtedly, the *indicated* speed on the speedometer will increase, but equally certainly, the *actual* speed will decrease slightly.

Also physically impossible.

While that might have *seemed* to have happened, it is not possible that it actually did.

[hallerb]

well cruise controls work on oe basic safety idea, anything wierd happens and the driver will go for brakes. just touch them and cruise is turned off.

I use cruise only on wide open roads with little traffic, never in bad or rainey weather or much traffic at all.

i too believe people can get lulled into a false dream like state.

its a known fact called highway hypnosis

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, They are motor vehicle operators not drivers. Driver is the one who is in control of his/her vehicle at all times regardless of road and weather condition.

[terry]

Isn't this the problem that caused the accident that caused Ed Smith, well known Newfoundland columnist and educator to be involved in a very serious and near fatal accident several years ago.

He is now a paraplegic and uses a special computer to 'write' and communicate?

Seem to recall that comment after that accident included advice to 'never to use cruise control on icy slippery/roads'.

The fact that cruise control was was engaged at the time appeared to have contributed to, if not caused, vehicle to become uncontrollable and drive off thr road.

Our vehicle has CC; don't like it and have never used it, under any conditions. If we ever did so it would be only in completely dry and open traffic conditions.

I do know one person who disconnected their CC after a close call when it did not disengage quickly or correctly!

Comment or correction welcomed.

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, Using CC on icy slippery road? He must be an big time idiot!!!! All 4 of my family vehicles has CC and they are all AWD, CC is only used on straight open highways in summer time under normal weather condition. Also if one really wants to control his/her vehicle, learn to use manual shift and take some defensive driving course.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Yep.

[S. Barker]

OH PLEASE!

Hell, i drive in the city using my speedcontrol. accell, coast. etc.

s

[JoeSpareBedroom]

In that case, you are the worst kind of driver.

And, in newsgroups, we place responses at the bottom, AFTER the text we respond to. I fixed that for you.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, His city must have high speed limit. CC does not work at low speed.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

And, there are too many things that can happen in the blink of an eye in the city. There's no good reason to use CC in the city, and no possible way to justify it.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Doesn't matter. It shouldn't be used in close quarters. Nothing should come between the driver and the controls, no matter how easy it is to disable. There is no debate. You are not qualified to drive a car.

[Stormin Mormon]

I think I saw this on

[Sam E]

And don't forget to SNIP long quotes, so the reader can see there's actual original material there. A bottom-posted reply after 100 lines of quoted text is a lot worse than top-posting (note that I'd prefer the bottom-post WITH SNIPPING).

[Pat]

What are you all, a bunch of city slickers. Heck, where I live it's

10 miles to take my son to school. Cruise control is used by everyone on the expressways cuz of the distances. So before you-all condem it, realize that there are lots of different folks out there with different driving situation. If you're driving 3 miles at 10 mph, you probably don't need it. But I often drive 200 or 300 or 400 miles at at time, so it definitely helps reduce the fatigue.

[Harry K]

e quoted text -

Every CC I have had (quite a few) all operated at 30 or less. Most at less. My current Ford 500 is annoying in that it will hold 30 but no below that.

I guess the OP must have a odd definition of "low speed"

Harry K

[JoeSpareBedroom]

Every CC I have had (quite a few) all operated at 30 or less. Most at less. My current Ford 500 is annoying in that it will hold 30 but no below that.

============

It's good that the Ford won't hold below 30. If you're going less than 30, one of the following is true:

1) Traffic. That means close quarters. Your vehicle should not be controlled by a computer.

2) Too old to drive. You should no longer own or drive a car.