Will Cruise Control Let You Fly Like A Rocket??

If you use it in the rain it might.

Hi Drivers - to continue my myth busting - or confirming as the case may be - the second email tip I received involved the dangers of using cruise control while driving in the rain. According to this email a driver had her cruise control on assuming it would be safer to keep it at a steady speed. Luckly the driver was unhurt after her car lost traction and then took off like a rocket!

To quote the email:

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 that if the cruise control is on, your car will begin to hydro-plane when the tires lose contact with the pavement, and 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 USETHE 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 a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on. Even if you send this to 15 people and only one of them doesn't know about this, its still worthy. You might have saved a life.

Once again I checked this one out and it appears to be true but with reservations. Most sights included an emphatic warning to NEVER use cruise control if the road is at all wet - stressing that in the rain or on ice you want complete control over your vehicle at all times - makes sense.

Hoax Slayer agrees with the core message of the email but takes issue with it's alarmist tone and suggests that it may be the drivers reaction while in cruise control that worsens the problem. Either way - even Hoax Slayer agrees you shouldn't use cruise control in the rain.

Happy Driving!