OT Bad weather and cruise control!

cadet trooper · Feb 10, 2010

The recent winter weather conditions seemed to have brought to the surface some issues that need to be addressed. I have a son and several law enforcement close friends and a so-in-law in the towing business that are telling me that during this recent winter blast that over 80% of the people that have gone in the ditch and a couple serious injury accidents were the result of people using theit cruise control on ice and snow covered roads "say what?" yup going down the highway texting and using the cruise control. With that said you form your own opinion I won't because I will go into a rant. CT

BushogPapa · Feb 10, 2010

Maybe they are related to the person who bought a big fancy self-contained camper..??
The first time down the road, she put the "Cruise" on and went in the back for coffee...!!
Of-course she Wrecked...BUT..sued and WON, for a NEW replacement Camper..!!

Go Figure...

Ron..

MarkB_MI · Feb 10, 2010

I don't advocate driving on cruise control in winter conditions. HOWEVER, particularly with older non-traction control vehicles, you're actually less likely to spin out with cruise control engaged rather than disengaged. The cruise control's speed sensor can detect a spinning wheel faster than you can.

The real problems are people going too fast for conditions, exceeding their own abilities and just plain not paying attention.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

i dont know what to tell you. seems like a "common sence" issue. shame you cant outlaw or regulate stupidity.

rocko

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

I sure hope them bad cops didn't invade those poor folks' privacy or violate their rights by telling them they can't text...... or that they have to drive careful...........

Bill(Wis) · Feb 10, 2010

Rubbish. Refer to the owner's manual. They ALL tell you NOT to use cruise control in slippery or icy conditions. Lunatics like you will cause people to get killed. I'M DEADLY SERIOUS!

Goose · Feb 10, 2010

I'm with you. If one driving wheel loses traction with the cruise set, the cruise will pull the throttle wide open to try to maintain speed. Traction control may or may not mitigate the effect. And not all vehicles have traction control.

A couple of years ago, a popular middle aged couple in our church were coming home on I-80 from watching their grandson play basketball at the University of Nebraska. Their car suddenly slid across the median and hit an 18 wheeler head on. Both were killed instantly.

No one knows for sure what happened, but it was on a stretch with scattered ice patches. Speculation was that whoever was driving had the cruise set and hit an icy patch.

Both my car and my wife's mini-van have traction control, but from habit we both forget about using cruise if there's even the slightest doubt.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Feb 10, 2010

Are you kidding? The older systems that were vacuum operated have no way of detecting wheel slippage. Using the cruise control on slippery roads is just plain stupid. Wreck your car or run in the ditch, you end up paying stupid tax to the tow truck operator.
Newer cars can detect a drive wheel slipping, but it's usually too late to prevent loss of control.

Firewood · Feb 10, 2010

I rarely use cruise because it kind of detaches me from watching everything going on with the driving. On a longer trip it is hard enough to keep your mind on the road even without cruise control.

MF165farmer · Feb 10, 2010

I own two trucks neither one has cruise control but there both 4x4 an I have common since unlike the idiot I seen yesterday He passed two cars on a hill with snow an ice one the road How studip can some poeple be

Anonymous-0 · Feb 10, 2010

You left out drinking a cup of coffee and eating a breakfast burrito.
I had a boss once who told me I should have a pad of paper in my car so I could jot down notes to plan my work day while driving in to work.

old · Feb 10, 2010

Just goes to show you that the more they do to make cars come close to driving them self's the more likely there is to be an accendent (sp). Cruise control is ok for open roads when the road conditions are good but that is it. But I also think for a person to pass a drivers test they should be able to check the oil, brake fluid, coolant and be able to change a tire or no license.

Lumpy · Feb 10, 2010

Back when I was in drivers education they taught you "how" to drive. Now it is a pass or fail course and the parents DON'T want anything to do with it. One of the first things I was taught in drivers ed when we got to the winter driving part was... NO CRUISE CONTROL! Think about it, the tires break loose from the cruise and the first thing they do is hit the brakes. Which puts them into the slide.

Ken Thies · Feb 10, 2010

Cruise control on bad roads is not what you want to do.
Drive a truck and do 3-4 months on iffy roads.
Use CC all the time,"BUT" pay attention.
Will get you where you don"t want to be real quick.
Most people don"t spend the time I spend on the road in different conditions and are more worried about talking or listing to tunes.
Winter conditions require full attention!

kruser · Feb 10, 2010

Cruise control is probably bad enough, BBBUUUTTT cell phone and/or texting? Call the wrecker!

Flurette Farm · Feb 10, 2010

What planet are you from?????

fixerupper · Feb 10, 2010

I learned my lesson about cruise and ice years ago. It was a rear wheel drive car and all of a sudden the rear end went sideways. I got it out of the skid but it gave me a quick and memorable lesson.

olgentdc · Feb 10, 2010

Me Too ,,,Cruise control&ICE... = perfect way to help the gene pool improve ...

paul · Feb 10, 2010

I'm gonna disagree with you Mark, cruise control on ice is a bad deal. On paper I get what you are trying to say, but it doesn't work that way in the real world. I think you might want to rethink this.

--->Paul

Bob · Feb 10, 2010

I wonder how a "runaway tyvoda" drives on ice?

MarkB_MI · Feb 11, 2010

Goose, and everyone else that responded: Read my post! I didn't say to use cruise on ice! I don't do it myself because you need to stay alert and cruise tends to make you relax.

What I did say, and I'll stick by it, is that you are less likely to spin out on cruise. It's a matter of simple physics: To spin out, one or both drive wheels must break traction. The first indication of that is an increase on the speedometer. A cruise control can detect a change in wheel speed of less than 1 MPH; no driver can do that. The first indication a driver has that a wheel is spinning is usually when the vehicle starts to slide sideways.

It is NOT true, as you say, that "if one driving wheel loses traction with the cruise set, the cruise will pull the throttle wide open to try to maintain speed." Think about it: The cruise control senses WHEEL speed, not vehicle speed. If one wheel spins, the cruise will sense an INCREASE in speed, and will cut the throttle until traction is regained. Try it sometime: engage your cruise control when you're on a patch of ice; you'll find that your car will not spin out even though you have very poor traction.

It's easy to speculate that an accident was caused by the use a cruise control, but without a black box in the vehicle there's no way to prove it.

Mark - IN. · Feb 11, 2010

I've been known to cruise out of control on ice. I try not to, but have to admit, yep, I've cruised out of control once I hit a patch of ice. When it gets really icey, I sometimes tie and hang a bunch of used tires all the way around my pickups lining them like a tug boat so it don't get banged up when I cruise out of control and bang into someone, often shoving them into someone or something else like tug boats do, except that my pickups aren't really tug boats, and not very effective against semis, which compared to the size of my pickups, are like super tankers. I find that when dealing with semis, I generally have to start banging into them long out before I get them to go where I want them to go. Can't wait until the last minute, especially if is piggy backed, or worse yet, a triple. Them triples I find that I need to start banging into about 3 miles out before I can put them into a wall or someone else, even if we're both on ice, especial if I don't have any ballast in my tires. When I'm on ice, I pretty toss everything I've learned from watching NASCAR right out the window.

Mark

1936 · Feb 11, 2010

Manual is good-reading manual bad just as the church lady would say on SNL.

Have found that next to nobody even knows that the new vehicles has a manual let alone open it!

Cruise and ice just don't work together very well.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 11, 2010

Both sets of parents ended up off the road on different occasions when they put their cars on cruise and fell asleep. Didn't need and snow or ice to do it.

The car conpanies are predicting that by 2020 we will have cars that drive and steer themselves. Sudden acceleration and braking problems, NAW!

Jon Hagen · Feb 11, 2010

"I wonder how a "runaway tyvoda" drives on ice? "

Maybe they could use the sales pitch from Defunct Pontiac
"We build excitement" ;-)

ryanwheelock · Feb 11, 2010

Same with rain, cruise control can break the rear wheel drive tires free if it down shifts like going up a hill. People dont think about not using it in the snow or rain. think its in the owners manual but who reads the manual from a car??
Ryan

Bill(Wis) · Feb 11, 2010

I've seen no less than 4 cars spin out on ice with the rear wheels spinning wildly while it was happening. Spraying rooster tails of snow and ice out behind the tires as the car was hitting the guard rail. Another time spraying water the same way as that big old Ford station wagon was valiantly trying to get that car back up to 65 mph as it was doing pirouettes in the median strip. Worse yet, the first car I ever owned with cruise control was a brand new 1964 Olds 98. What a beautifuil car. Wheel speed sensor was on the left front wheel. Sooo, the rear drive wheels would do whatever was necessary to keep that left front wheel going at whatever speed was set into the cruise control. Using cruise control in any kind of slippery road condition is worse than playing russian roulette.

cadet trooper · Feb 11, 2010

Well I don"t know who was cited in that 80% but the county here has relaxed their citations during this past storm but I"m thinking there needs to be some rethinking by the county SD in regards to using CC in bad weather and reckless op. As far as my SIL the tow truck he needs to be taking us to dinner, he has two trucks and had been working nonstop. The most ironic thing is when I talked to the deputy was when he would ask the driver what happened they would say "All I know is I had the cruise set and figured if It started to get out of control I would tap the brakes and it would shutoff and I was on the phone and didn"t react quick enough" again Say What? Wow, you know us guys even if we made a dumb mistake we"d never admit too it. We (me and the deputy) always meet at the local quickstop for a quick splash of coffee because he"s getting off shift and I"m going to work, I had coffee stains down the front of me all day after that statement, he thought that was funny. Oh my SIL just says "Cash or plastic?" after they admit to their wrongdoing. If no one was hurt I like that question. :->

OT Bad weather and cruise control!

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