BlindLuck

Hey everyone, earlier this morning I was driving to class and getting on a freeway. It was raining and some dude I guess spun out as he was facing the opposite direction he should be, which you couldn't see until you were pretty much next to him. I was going about 35 mph when I saw it and braked harder than normal (nothing too hard though) and since I had to turn into the ramp, I let off the brakes a bit so I didn't spin out as well and turned. Funny thing though, as I turned the steering wheel, my car kept going straight; There wasn't as much resistance in the steering wheel as there usually is either. So I smashed my brakes at that point and came to a complete stop. Didn't do anything for a few seconds other than straighten my steering wheel and tried again, steering worked fine and I went on my way. Now I'm paranoid it'll happen again though but I'm also thinking that maybe it just had to do with slippery roads. My car is an '07 V6. Anyone know what happened?

JimC

Probably just slipping. If you have ABS you should have stayed on the brakes. How are your tires as far as tread?

88 orangepeel notch

+1 ^^^

Wet, slippery road surface. Or as my Mother would always say " your going to fast for conditions". lol

Derf00

Hydroplaning (when water makes the tires lose contract with the surface of the road)...do whatever you want to the steering wheel, gas, or brakes. The car will continue traveling in the direction it was moving in when it started hydroplaning until it regains contact with the road.

ucinn

yup.happened to me in my 95 I had..once it started hydroplaning, there wasn't anything I could do except sit back and not enjoy the ride..the car in front of me stopped me though thankfully before I slid into the intersection...lol

proeagles

This is true. However, your car has ABS and you could have continued to apply the brakes and turn at the same time as you regained traction.

Derf00

That is a true but my original statement still stands.

I'll modify my statement:
ABS reduces the distance it takes to regain traction but you will still travel a certain distance in an undesired direction until you regain contact. A constant, steady pressure on the brake pedal is required for best results with ABS.