Can cruise control on cars be dangerous?

BRANDIE

yes but you can press the off button and it will decrease the speed or pressing on the breaks enable it to work . (just basically pay attention)

Yes, you never use cruise control in any kind of slippery conditions. The car will keep powering away once you start to slide and you'll be in an accident before you even remember you have the cruise control on. The car is in control, not you.

You NEVER use cruise control in traffic or bad weather conditions. My father has gotten into at least one accident exactly this way.

oklatom

You should not use cruise control in rain, snow, or ice.

Although unfamiliar with that specific incident, Washington State Patrol trooper Mark Baker agreed that drivers shouldn't use cruise control on ice, in snow or in heavy rain.

Driving without cruise control gives the driver more awareness of conditions, Baker said.

"If you break traction, it's easy to take your foot off the gas," he said.

But with cruise control, drivers might not know something is wrong until it's too late.

quickmirada

In a way, it can. Say that your cruise is set at 40, on a flat road. When you lose traction on a flat road, the wheel speed sensors, or whatever type of speed sensor is used, will still measure 40mph, although the car is not actually moving forward at 40mph because the tires are spinning. This could cause a more severe slide, especially when turning.

MKEN

Yes, I once had a pontiac T/A and the cruise got stuck at 60 mph and I had to stop the car by putting it in neutral and cutting the ignition off, just hitting the brakes would'nt stop it!!

angela b

it can be dangerous for the fact that you dont have full control of the car...if you use it ,then you would notice that it has a brain of its own..when you go up hill it automatically picks up speed and then when going down hill it controls it speed,but on the weather such as snow,rain or ice it wouldnt know because its made for that kind of knowledge of driving conditions...so you have full control on such dangerous driving conditions...

sunshines_in_da_room

Driving with Cruise Control On Wet Pavement

In our October newsletter, the Helpful Hints section suggested turning off cruise control to avoid hydroplaning and a possible accident when driving on wet pavement.

Additional information:

Wet-road driving is full of dangers that are not always apparent. Roads constantly accumulate oily substances and this residue settles deep into the pavement. Rain brings the residue back to the surface, making roads especially slippery during that first hour of downpour or even misting. Under these wet conditions drivers are likely to experience reduced control, and are cautioned to be extra careful for the first half-hour after it begins to rain. Just a thin layer of water lying on pavement can send an unsuspecting car hydroplaning into another lane or even off the roadway.

What is hydroplaning? In rain, a layer of water builds up beneath your tires. As you drive at higher speeds, the car begins sliding on this layer and can cause you to loose all physical contact with the ground. The car's wheels skim along the water's surface instead of making contact with the road. This is called hydroplaning, and greatly reduces control, allowing even slight gusts of wind to cause your car to skid. Thus it is highly advisable to avoid high speeds during rains.

The only way to stop this wheel-spin and maintain control is to immediately reduce power. However, an activated cruise control system will continue to apply power, keeping the wheels spinning. By the time you disengage the cruise control, you may have lost control.

Autoinspector

Unless your vehicle is equipped with stability control system, cruise control has no idea what kind of surface the vehicle is on. ABS only works when brakes are applied. This means that theoretically a vehicle may loose control and skid on a slippery surface because cruise control system applies too much torque to the wheels.

my_alias_id

Hydroplaning is the reason.

Lauren

using cruise control allows you to pay less attention to your driving, so you're more likely to loose control of the vehicle

Diamond.....1 M/C ~*~*

yea it can get stuck in the on position

lethander_99

The cruise control attempts to keep the car at a constant speed regardless of road conditions which can both be a benifit anf a problem its a benifit because if one tire starts spinning the speed sencor and traction control can catchit faster then a human reaction can and adjust the output accordingly,

on the flip side cruise control cause you to pay less attention to the road and the driving process in general and possibly have your feet away from the pedals slowing your reaction to an emergency

gary o

You will lose feel for the road as well as slowing your reaction time, i.e you have to disengage cruse before you can slow down. during potentially dangerous road condition you need to be control and focused 100%.

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