HYDROPLANING AND ROADWAY TORT LIABILITY

Tort claims against highway agencies for alleged incidents of hydroplaning due to roadway defects have been growing in number. Many claims of hydroplaning cannot be substantiated by the weather, roadway, or vehicle conditions present at the time of the accident. And often when hydroplaning occurs, the evidence indicates that an inappropriate response to adverse driving conditions, or simply driver negligence, may be the direct cause rather than a roadway defect. Research of the phenomenon of hydroplaning was reviewed to address issues that arise when hydroplaning is alleged in roadway tort litigation. Hydroplaning is the separation of a rolling or sliding tire from the roadway surface by a layer of fluid. Of the three types of hydroplaning commonly recognized, highway engineers are primarily concerned with viscous and dynamic hydroplaning. Of these two, dynamic hydroplaning presents the greater risk. In the extreme situation of full dynamic hydroplaning, complete separation of the tire from the pavement by a fluid layer negates the driver's ability to control vehicle speed and direction. Hydroplaning may be avoided by consideration of several factors. Proper highway design may reduce hydroplaning risks by providing adequate pavement texture and cross slope. However, ultimate responsibility for avoiding hydroplaning lies with the driver. Drivers can reduce incidents of hydroplaning by maintaining tires in good condition at rated inflation pressures and by slowing down during rainstorms or on wet roadways.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1993/1401/1401-016.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=HYDROPLANING+AND+ROADWAY+TORT+LIABILITY&author=J.+Mounce&author=R.+Bartoskewitz&publication_year=1993
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309054745
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1401, Highway and Traffic Safety and Accident Research, Management, and Issues. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Mounce, John M
  • Bartoskewitz, Richard T
• Publication Date: 1993

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 117-124
• Monograph Title: Highway and traffic safety and accident research, management, and issues
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1401
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Defects; Highway design; Hydroplaning; Inflation; Insurance claims; Loss and damage claims; Motor vehicles; Pavements; Speed; Surface course (Pavements); Surface drainage; Texture; Tire pressure; Tires; Tort liability; Traffic speed; Wet weather
• Uncontrolled Terms: Pavement cross slope; Wet pavements
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Pavements; Safety and Human Factors; Vehicles and Equipment; I82: Accidents and Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00640012
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309054745
• Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Dec 21 1993 12:00AM