Safety Warning!

Something Many Have Never Thought About! This is especially important with the rainy season upon us.

Brought to you by your friends at TPS Tire and Service Center

I wonder how many people know about this? A 36 year old female had an accident and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas she was traveling between Gladewater & Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence!

When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON. She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.

But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.

The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visior - NEVER USE THE CRUSE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. More and more we tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed (and to make sure you don't get a ticked) - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.

NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow you to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.