Cruise control is a safety feature installed in most of the modern day cars, to automatically control the speed, in different driving situations. While this feature really helps the driver to maintain a safe distance from the cars driving in front of them while speeding up on freeways, using it on slippery roads can have the opposite effect.

As suggested by the Lexington Chevrolet dealership drivers, using cruise control feature while driving in certain driving conditions can be dangerous, rather than helpful.

On Wet Roads

Driving through rain, snow, hail, or on wet and slippery roads can badly affect the ability of the system to maintain a consistent speed.

When you are driving through wet roads at a high speed, the cruise control set at that time can cause the vehicle to hydroplane especially if it gets to face any standing water. On surfaces withvery low-traction like ice and snow, operating the cruise control feature can result into a sudden skid or spin.

Lead to Distracted Driving

When you know, the speed of the car is to be decided by you and it is your responsibility to drive safe, you are mindfully taking all the driving decision. It is up to you to manually maintain the vehicle’s speed. But if you are relieved from this task, it can be tempting for each driver to divert his mind into something engaging like the phone, the radio, or just be unmindful. Relying too much on the cruise control feature can create a false sense of security and reduce your urge to keep the vehicle under your own control. All this can quickly lead to serious accidents. So, it is recommended not to use the cruise control feature in highways especially on long hour drives, as that is already where your mind is tired and is looking for a relaxation, which is dangerous for both you and everybody around.

Fast Turning Roads

Today along with the cars, even the driveways are changing fast. The long highways now can have with too many diversions, changed directions, winding roads. or if you are driving on hills, these are inevitable driving conditions that you’ve to face. In such conditions, using cruise control can bring you more trouble than helping you out. The test drivers of the Chevrolet dealers near Lexington say, as you drive up and down the hills, engaging your cruise control feature will make the car maintain the same speed even while accelerating on the inclines and when it is time to brake on the decline. This process will not only make driving difficult for youbut will also burn more gas in the process.

They concluded that it is actually dangerous to use cruise control on steep or winding roads since it will either enter the turns in high speed or accelerate at a lower speed because of which it will be difficult for anybody to have complete control on his vehicle.

Cruise control can be a useful feature, just be sure you’re not relying on it too much and only use it in safe conditions. It’s particularly helpful on long road trips.