Mudplaning (tires)
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Mudplaning is the loss of traction of a wheel when the pavement is covered by a very thin layer of mud. It occurs during the first rainfall on a specific area, which have not seen rain for a period of time, so that the road is covered by a thin layer of dust. The effects are especially dangerous on dry areas, where the erosion of sand is more prominent. When the rain first falls down, the thin layer of dust turns into a nearly transparent layer of mud, so that the color of asphalt remains as usual, but the underlying mud may still cause a critical loss of traction comparable to that of driving on rime ice. When the rain totally washes the pavement off the dust, the effects of mudplaning will cease. The whole phenomenon is similar to the formation of black ice, which has been responsible for many unavoidable accidents on highways.
To avoid mudplaning, a driver has to check whether the road is taking its first rain after a prolonged drought. This can be done by looking at weather reports of that specific area, and evaluating its geographic structure. If the driver is suspicious of the hazard, it would be an option to stop the vehicle and check the tires for artifacts of dust. If the tires are getting dirty with no visible sign of the road being so, then the road may pose a mudplaning hazard. It is advised to wait for the rain to totally remove the sand on the pavement before resuming the trip.
