What is aquaplaning and how to avoid it?

There are two main sets of factors that drivers can control to reduce the risk of aquaplaning. The first is driving habits—the faster a vehicle is travelling, the harder it is for the tyres to scatter water, so it is important to slow down when the road is wet. This is especially true when there are puddles or areas of deeper water on the road.
During a rainstorm, it is best to avoid using cruise control; it may deliver a burst of power when a vehicle starts to aquaplane, exacerbating the problem rather than correcting it.
Of equal importance to adapting your driving style to wet conditions is making sure that your tyres are in good shape. The tyres should be inflated to the vehicle manufactures recommended pressure settings and the tyre tread depth needs to be sufficient to cut through and push aside the water. It is important to ensure your tyres are balanced correctly and the vehicle wheel alignment is regularly checked so they wear evenly and have no balding areas that could be prone to aquaplaning.

Aquaplaning can occur at any speed, depending on the condition of roads and tyres and the depth of water. However, slowing down will always reduce the risk of aquaplaning as it increases the amount of friction between the tyre and road and gives the driver more time to react to deep water on the road. Driving at under 35 miles per hour will significantly decrease your chances of losing control due to aquaplaning.

Aquaplaning gives the sensation that your vehicle is drifting or floating; it could be likened to skidding across a sheet of ice. Your vehicle may begin to fishtail or veer sideways; especially if it affects the tyres of only one of the vehicles axles rather than both. In this instance, your engine’s RPMs may suddenly increase as the rubber loses contact with the road surface.
You will also feel a loss of control in the steering, power and braking systems. The best thing to do is ease off on the accelerator without braking. In most cases, the vehicle will regain traction and continue its trajectory before an accident occurs.

Aquaplaning and hydroplaning are two different terms for the same phenomenon. They are synonyms.

Aquaplaning is one of the chief culprits of loss of vehicle control in rainy conditions, as explained earlier in this article. However because water acts as a lubricant and reduces friction between surfaces, vehicles are more prone to lose control on wet roads even without aquaplaning.
The risk is especially high during the first ten minutes or so of light rain, when the water has caused slippery oils on the road to come to the surface but has not yet washed those substances away.

One of the main factors that influences the risk of aquaplaning is the condition of your equipment, especially your tyres. Worn out tyres with little tread depth are less effective at pushing water out from underneath them. The minimum tread depth for tyres in the UK is 1.6mm across the centre three quarters of the tread area, however it most tyre manufacturers recommend to consider changing summer tyres at 3mm as the risk of aquaplaning has vastly increased below this.

Tyres that are under- or over-inflated also have more difficulty handling water on roads as this could reduce the tread contact patch of the tyres.

Another factor that increases risk is vehicle speed: the faster you drive, the more likely you are to aquaplane. Water depth is another risk factor—the deeper the water, the more quickly your vehicle will lose traction.
Vehicle weight, tyre width and road surface type are three additional variables that can contribute to a higher risk of aquaplaning. Heavier vehicles will be more resistant to aquaplaning than lighter ones, all else being equal. Wider tyres will also maintain contact with the road under wet conditions more effectively than narrower ones. Lastly, grooved concrete will shed water more readily than smooth asphalt, making it safer in a rainstorm.

A tyre’s effectiveness in wet conditions depends on its tread pattern and rubber compounds. The best tyre for rain will have channels that are optimised to push water out from under the tyre, although the exact pattern will vary according to the width of the tyre, among other parameters. Some tyres are designed with specific compounds and physical characteristics to increase the amount of rubber in contact with the irregular road surface at any given time.

Aside from features explicitly designed to address the challenges of rain, there is a set of secondary factors that play into the choice of the best tyres for rain. One is the tyre’s duration. A long-lasting tyre will wear out less quickly, so it will maintain a deeper tread depth for longer, which is key to its performance in rain. In addition, seasonality can play a factor as using the correct tyre in for the correct season will also improve safety and longevity of the tread compound and pattern.