Does Insurance Cover Hydroplaning Car Accidents?

You’re driving in the dark, it starts to rain, and suddenly, you experience a terrifying sensation. Your car doesn’t just feel like it’s suddenly flying — it actually is. It’s what the experts call “hydroplaning”. Our Seattle car accident lawyers know that even the most careful drivers can find themselves in these scary situations.

The unpredictable nature of hydroplaning and its potential to cause accidents raises a natural question: How does hydroplaning affect insurance? Auto insurance policies often provide coverage for accidents caused by hydroplaning. If you lose control and crash your own car due to hydroplaning, your collision coverage would typically pay for the repairs on your vehicle and pay for any medical treatment you need up to the limit of your coverage.

Conversely, if the hydroplaning results in a collision with another vehicle, and your insurer determines you were responsible, your liability insurance could have to cover the other driver's medical expenses, lost wages, vehicle damage, and pain and suffering awards.

If you, as the driver, caused your vehicle to hydroplane and one of your passengers was injured, they could file a lawsuit against your insurance as well.

What Is Hydroplaning?

Many people wonder, what is a hydroplane when driving? There is a difference between hydroplaning and simply skidding in a wet spot. Hydroplaning occurs when your vehicle loses contact with the pavement, creating a dangerous situation.

As you drive on wet pavement, water collects ahead of your car’s front tires. Sometimes, the tread on the tires can’t disperse the water quickly enough. This causes the wheels to actually lift off the pavement, the way a water skier skims across the water — and that is what’s a hydroplane.

Driving in the rain is dangerous for many reasons, including the reduced visibility, the risk of losing control over steering, and the greater chance you’ll hydroplane in a car. When drivers fail to adapt their driving habits as water accumulates on the road, they stand a good chance of causing a hydroplane car accident.

What Causes Hydroplaning?

It is critical for drivers to drive defensively and learn how to react in time to avoid hydroplaning car accidents. But when does hydroplaning occur, and how fast do you have to go to hydroplane? Losing contact with the road’s surface is the chief cause, but there are many other contributing factors, such as:

• Vehicle speed: Hydroplaning can occur at speeds as low as 35 mph, and speeding decreases traction.
• Tread depth: When your tire tread depth wears to less than 4/32 of an inch, traction decreases.
• Water depth: Deeper water means a greater chance of hydroplaning, although you can lose traction at just 1/10 of an inch.
• Road conditions: Uneven surfaces have deeper areas of standing water that drivers may not notice.
• Poor road design: Some roads aren't designed for wet weather safety or proper drainage.
• Vehicle weight: Heavier vehicles resist hydroplaning better due to the greater force to displace water on the road.
• Vehicle center of gravity: Higher centers of gravity make vehicles more unwieldy in wet conditions.

Even knowing the threshold for hydroplaning speed and what to look for on the roads — like large puddles of standing water — isn’t going to always protect you from being struck by another driver who isn’t practicing defensive driving.

What Are the Risks of Hydroplaning?

A hydroplaning crash can be terrifying — you feel the vehicle skidding out of control and are helpless to steer it. In fact, between 2007 and 2016, on average, 70% of weather-related collisions were due to wet pavement and tragically caused 76% of weather-related car accident deaths.

There are no surefire ways to prevent a hydroplane accident. However, knowing that, during the same period, 46% of weather-related crashes happened when it was raining can help you make better travel decisions. Controlling your speed also helps; your chances of an aquaplane start around 30 mph and dramatically increase when going faster than 50 mph.

If you’ve lost a loved one in a severe collision, an accident attorney can file a wrongful death suit on your behalf.

Who's Liable for a Hydroplaning Accident in Washington State?

Determining who’s at fault in a hydroplaning accident can be trickier than other types of crashes because weather plays so much of a role in the collision. Is hydroplaning considered an act of God? While hydroplaning is caused by weather conditions like rain, which are beyond a driver's control, the driver's actions in those conditions are not. Just because rain contributes to the situation doesn't automatically absolve a driver of responsibility.

Liability for a wreck would depend on which driver was the most negligent when conditions were hazardous. Drivers have a duty of care to operate their vehicles responsibly when on the road, including going slower in rainy, snowy, and slick conditions and taking measures to avoid hydroplaning.

When you get a driver’s license, you implicitly agree to avoid actions that could cause a collision. If you’re asking, “Is hydroplaning an at-fault accident?” the answer would be yes if one driver:

• Was speeding or going too fast for weather and road conditions.
• Was following too closely.
• Was using their phone while driving.
• Changed lanes suddenly or was weaving in and out of traffic.

Reckless, aggressive, or negligent driving doesn’t just create conditions for a catastrophic accident — it could also lead to heavy fines or even jail time for the at-fault driver, in addition to any type of car accident lawsuit they’re named in.

Proving negligence is how your car accident lawyer determines liability in a hydroplaning car accident case. If the other driver abandons their duty of care to drive safely and prevent an accident, then they can be found liable for causing the crash and therefore owe you compensatory damages.

But your lawyer needs proof that the other driver was negligent and that the accident wasn’t simply a case of bad weather and bad luck. In some cases, neither driver is to blame, but the municipality or road designer is liable for failing to construct safe roads or provide adequate drainage in heavy rains.

Your lawyer considers every possibly liable party in hydroplaning collisions. Even the mechanic for one of the cars could be partly to blame for the accident if a poorly performed repair made it harder for one driver to regain control of their car.

How Does Car Insurance Cover Hydroplaning?

Specifically, how your insurance is affected depends on your policy, coverage, and carrier’s rules, but essentially, there is no separate hydroplane car accident insurance.

Reporting the accident and getting coverage after a wreck works generally the same way. You may file a claim with the at-fault driver’s auto liability insurance to collect damages, which can cover losses, such as:

• Repairing or replacing your vehicle
• Emergency medical treatment
• Ongoing medical care or medication
• Lost wages from time missed at work
• Pain and suffering
• Modifications to your home or vehicle, if you suffered a permanent disability
• Emotional trauma and mental anguish

If you were the only driver involved, you would file a claim with your own company. If you have a Personal Injury Protection Policy (PIP), you may also file a claim for additional medical costs.

Possible Compensation After a Hydroplaning Accident

Hydroplane car accidents can be serious, often causing catastrophic injuries to drivers and passengers. But what's hydroplaning's role in determining liability? If you were involved in a serious accident, you may be entitled to compensation from the other driver.

Washington State DOES NOT have a “no-fault” automobile insurance system. It operates under a "tort system", meaning the driver at fault in an accident is responsible for paying all due compensation through their insurance to those injured or who have suffered losses and damages. The at-fault driver’s insurance covers the following:

• Medical expenses up to $10,000
• The cost of medical devices
• Lost earnings from work
• Pain and suffering damages
• Property damage

This is contrasted with “no-fault” states where everyone’s own auto insurance pays their lost wages and medical bills, regardless of who caused the crash.

Because proving fault is more difficult when severe weather conditions are a factor, your best chance of obtaining compensation after a hydroplaning accident is by working with a car accident attorney. We understand the science behind hydroplaning and how to gather the right kind of evidence to prove negligence.

What to Do If Your Car Hydroplanes?

Mastering what to do when you hydroplane can help you regain control of your vehicle. To help prevent a wreck, follow these steps for what to do if your car hydroplanes:

• If your vehicle begins to skid, you should gently turn the steering wheel in the direction the vehicle is sliding.
• Keep your front tires straight.
• Brake with a light pumping action.
• Slowly ease off the accelerator.

Depending on whether you have rear-wheel or front-wheel brakes, your brakes may engage differently.

Rear-Wheel Drive Vehicle

Rear-wheel drive vehicles may make it easier to position your front tires straight.

Front-Wheel Drive Vehicle

The brakes for front-wheel drive vehicles may lock more readily than rear-wheel drive, so only gingerly press the brake pedal.

How to Avoid Hydroplaning

There are a few methods when it comes to how to prevent hydroplaning:

• Drive under the speed limit in wet conditions.
• Avoid driving with worn tires.
• Keep longer distances between yourself and other cars.
• Stick to the inner lanes of the road.
• Don’t use cruise control.
• Turn the steering wheel slowly, not sharp or fast.
• Avoid puddles and standing water.
• Regularly inspect your tire tread depth to ensure it's at least 2/32 of an inch.
• Keep your tires properly inflated.

If these tips don’t keep an accident from happening, call 911, never admit fault, and only talk to police officers and EMS.

Injured in a Hydroplaning Accident? Don’t Deal with the Insurance Company Alone. Call Us.

Hydroplaning accidents can be complex and difficult to handle alone. At Lehmbecker Law, our skilled Washington State car accident attorneys understand the nuances of proving liability in weather-related collisions. We'll fight to ensure you receive the maximum amount of money possible for your injuries and damages. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case.