I don’t understand how a car will accelerate in cruise control when tires lose contact with the ground. The wheels would still be spinning and the speedometer will still be registering, so why would the car accelerate?
You make a good point, it’s just that when I hydroplane, I take my foot off the acelerator gently. Cruise control, not sensing inertial effects, will try to maintain constant wheel speed, perhaps with nasty consequences. Maybe that one is just as apochryphal. Like I said, I dunno.
I’ve used cruise control in the rain for years. I slow down which is the most important factor. I drive an AWD vehicle which may be another factor in that the car can tell when any one of my wheels is turning faster than the others. The cruise control will detect hydroplaning and cut the accelerator faster than I can.
The car doesn’t accelerate, (although it does feel like it) but the wheels lose traction and the cruise control keeps the wheels spinning at the set speed. This prevents the tires from regaining traction, and you skid off the road with your drive wheels trying to keep the car travelling at the set speed.
Without cruise control, you reflexively lift your foot off the accelerator pedal, which allows the wheels to slow down, thereby regaining traction and control.
I was in a mini van with brakes designed not to lock. Suddenly, in a rain storm, a freaking idiot pulled out in front of me and I slammed on the brakes. They “let go” and began pumping themselves until I crash-stopped in the side of the car. Before that kicked in, I was stopping fine and was on the way to avoiding a crash.
Luckily, my brother-in-law knows how to undo computerized “safety” crap on autos. Made me a believer in his warning. Human brains often work better than do computers.