In two CCTV videos of separate incidents in just the past few months, buses speeding along the South Superhighway in heavy rain were shown beginning to skid out of control even while traveling in a straight line without braking or turning. In the first incident, the conductor narrated how the bus “seemed to be blown sideways by the wind.” In the second incident involving a JAC Liner, the operator explained that their drivers had just undergone a retraining course, and the accident was “only because the road was slippery.”
Most drivers seem to be already aware of the need to slow down when a light shower starts and bring to the surface light oil stains that make the road slippery. However, very few are aware of the phenomenon of “hydroplaning”—wherein tires, though they may be brand-new and deeply grooved, lift on the water’s surface and completely lose contact with the road when the vehicle is being driven at medium to high speeds in moderate or heavy rain.
All bus drivers should be given a retraining course complete with illustrations on how tires are lifted by a thin depth of rainwater at highway speeds and begin traveling on water like a speedboat instead of a land vehicle with full road contact. The course should emphasize the need to slow down in rainy weather or when encountering wet roads, and to inspect tires regularly to ensure they are changed before the grooves become too shallow. The retraining should result in fewer passenger deaths and reduce extensive damage to their expensive buses.
—BENJAMIN B. AGUNOD,
benjamin2914@yahoo.com