The 1 Thing You Should Never, Ever Do If Your Car Is Hydroplaning

On rainy days, hydroplaning —when you drive over enough water that your car’s tires lose traction with the road, and you lose the power to steer, brake and accelerate — is every driver’s worst fear.

“It’s like being a boat. Your tires are completely not in contact with the asphalt,” explained Mike Thomas, a driving instructor for 27 years and co-founder of AllGood Driving School in Northern California. “You’re at the mercy of whatever position your car is going to be in when your tires hit the pavement again. It’s very scary.”

No driver wants to be in this position. But if the worst comes to pass and one of your tires — or all of them! — is hydroplaning, there’s one thing you can do to not make things worse.

The biggest mistake is panicking and slamming the brakes.

When your car is skidding out of your control, it’s normal to feel afraid. Just remember to stay calm. Keep a firm grip on your steering wheel and slowly take your foot off of the accelerator without braking until your tires regain traction.

The big mistake is a sudden movement like jerking your wheel or slamming the brakes.

In a video demonstration, Ryan Pszczolkowski, tire program manager for Consumer Reports, walks through why you do not want to make a sudden hard turn:

“As we get back onto dry asphalt, you have your wheels turned. Now all of a sudden, we have grip and the car lurches to the left, which is why you don’t want to turn,” Pszczolkowski explains to a reporter, as they drive in a hydroplaning car.

The goal is to get traction back underneath your tires as soon as possible. That means not taking your hands off the wheel and staying alert.

If one of your rear tires starts hydroplaning and slides your car to the right, turn into the skid and