May 2010: I remember a harrowing experience that taught me the importance of tyres. It was about 1-2 months after I got my licence and I was still learning about cars and driving.

The sky was pouring as I drove on the expressway, going at 90km/h on the first lane. Just as I was rounding a corner, I saw a puddle and panicked. In a moment of frenzy, I slammed the brakes just as my tyres hit the water.

The car started sliding from left to right. I swerved the steering wheel wildly, and stomped on the brakes. After some near-misses with cars in the adjacent lane and the centre barrier of the expressway, the ABS activated and grinded me to a halt right in front of the barrier.

For a few moments, I couldn't breathe as my mind reeled from the shock. Then a stupid van driver behind me started honking at me impatiently so I had to continue driving.

Lately, there has been spells of rain in Singapore and it reminded me of my near-accident (or even near-death) experience.

What actually happened was hydroplaning, or aquaplaning.

What is aquaplaning?

It's when your tyres lose traction and are no longer touching the road, with your car gliding across the layer of water between the road and the tyres.

There are a few reasons why aquaplaning occurs - it can be due to your speed, tyre wear, tyre inflation or depth of water.

Aquaplaning happens when the water in front of your tyres builds up faster than your car's weight can push it out of the way. The water pressure causes your car to rise up and glide on a thin layer of water between the tyres and the road.

At this point, your car is not in contact with the road, and you are in danger of skidding or drifting out of your lane, or even off the road. That was what happened to me.

The lesson I learnt from that experience is the importance of maintaining tyres.

Maintaining your tyres

Tyres that are properly maintained will cut through the water and maintain contact with the ground at speeds less than 50km/h. But if you are going too fast, the water is very deep or your tyres are worn and under-inflated, you will end up losing traction completely and riding on a cushion of water instead.

To prevent such frightening experiences, spend that bit more of effort on your tyres. Keep them properly inflated, maintain good tread on them and replace when necessary for normal driving in Singapore, tyres shouldn't last more than two years.

What to do when you encounter aquaplaning

1. Do not slam the brakes or turn the steering wheel wildly.

2. Release the accelerator.

3. Let the car continue in the direction of the skid (if there's no obstacle ahead).

4. For manual gearboxes, clutch in and let the car slow down by itself. For automatic gearboxes, hold the steering wheel firmly and lightly apply the brakes.

5. If you have to brake, tap the brake pedal gently with light pumping actions. If your car has ABS, apply more pressure to the brakes like in a normal situation, but do not slam on them suddenly.