Hydroplaning risks on slick roads: how to stay safe during heavy SOKY storms

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – With the heavy thunderstorms we’ve had lately, Kentucky State Police and Warren County Emergency Management are urging drivers to use caution on slick roads. 

KSP Post 3 Trooper Daniel Priddy cautioned, “When we have heavy rains and flooding on the roads, it can be deceiving.”

With such heavy rainstorms moving through Southcentral Kentucky, Kentucky State Police are reinforcing the age-old saying, ‘Turn around, don’t drown.’

“Any time that you’re in a position where your vehicle is hydroplaning or you lose control of your vehicle because of slippery surfaces, it’s very difficult to regain that control,” said Priddy. “You don’t really know what your vehicle is going to be doing. So, it could run off the roadway. It can go into another vehicle in two opposing lanes. It takes just a foot of water to be able to move a vehicle off the roadway.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wet roads are responsible for approximately 950,000 automobile crashes each year.

Priddy says choosing to speed on slick roadways is a decision that can hurt more than just you.

“You’re not just taking a chance with your life. You’re taking the chance with everyone in the car and also the responders that will have to come in and try to rescue you.”

Plus, operating watery roadways isn’t a rare problem here.

Warren County Emergency Management Support Staff  Casey Archie said, “Flooded roadways are common, especially around here in low-lying areas close to the Barren River and Green River. And so we always try to advise people, ‘If you see a flooded roadway, don’t drive across a barrier, turn around and find another direction.’”

KSP and Warren County EMS advise that if you can, try to outright avoid routes you know are susceptible to flood.

Priddy said, “You know the roads in your area that have flooding problems or that flood often. So, stay away from those roads when have heavy rains. And if you do see the water flood the roadway, try to find an alternate route because it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”