BERLIN: Drivers on the roads in rainy or wet conditions should watch out for two phenomena that signal danger. If tyre tracks of the car ahead of you are disappearing very quickly in water, that indicates deep wheel ruts and an extremely high risk of aquaplaning, road safety experts say.
However, if traces of suds are visible on the road, that’s a sign that a dangerous slippery film has built up on the roads, typically after a long period of dryness followed by a rain shower.
In both cases, it is of the utmost importance to slow down and drive at double the normal safe distance to the vehicle in front, says vehicle inspection agency Tuv Sued.
Otherwise, contact with the road could be broken faster than you might think. This is especially the case if the tyres do not have much of a profile.
Before the vehicle begins to slide on the film of water, there are also clear warning signals. These are the heavy sounds of water from below and increasingly smoother steering.
Anyone who actually does begin to glide on the water should immediately slow down and avoid making sudden or hectic steering movements.
Drivers can always carefully check with small steering movements whether the tyres have traction again. Cars that are gliding with worn out tyres on the other hand will suddenly swerve as soon as the tyres have contact with the road again.
Keyword: Two highly dangerous kinds of wet surfaces every driver should know