TERRIFYING footage captured the moment a car loses control on a busy wet motorway – and flips on to its roof.
The black Mercedes C-class 2017 can be seen braking twice before it loses control, drifts over three lanes and ends up in the grass verge.
The driver was making his way down the busy M40 northbound on the outskirts of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, on Sunday.
The dashcam driver, who wishes to remain anonymous, believes the car was travelling at around 70mph – despite wet weather causing stopping distances to double.
Social media users pointed out that the car appears to be aquaplaning. This happens when a layer of water is allowed to build up between a vehicle’s tyres and the road surface.
The tyres then cannot grip the road and the vehicle loses traction – the driver is then unable to steer, brake or accelerate.
The video was uploaded to Facebook by the dashcam driver with the caption: “This happened on the M40 northbound around one o’clock. Overturned Mercedes C-class 2017.
“I can’t see a reason why he braked twice briefly before drifting through the other lanes, hitting the grass and landing on his roof.
“We were doing 65-70mph and from the thousands of cars on all lanes. Only his decided to go sideways twice and then he lost it completely.
“No reason apparently unless ABS wasn’t working?”
The driver added: “Despite me keeping it steady, you can see he kept playing with the throttle, kept disappearing away from me and only catching up traffic ahead made him get on the brakes.
“I didn’t realize this until I looked over and over again at the video. Looks like it’s his fault, not the car’s.”
The footage begins with the dashcam driver sitting in the outside lane of the motorway.
The road is heavy with rain, and visibility is low, as dozens of motorists make their way through the treacherous conditions.
The black Mercedes can be seen in the outside lane ahead of the dashcam driver.
Despite the low visibility, the car can be seen attempting to brake as the red lights flash through the heavy rain.
Suddenly, the car can be seen turning sharply to the left – and heading straight across the three lanes in front of other motorists.
The Mercedes spins off into the grass verge as the other motorists drive on and dramatically flips onto it’s roof.
A puff of smoke can be seen coming from the Mercedes as it flips high into the air.
Many social media users have commented on the post to discuss the difficult conditions the drivers had to face.
One user, wrote: “Braking when aquaplaning is what causes this. You should never brake. This guy made that mistake.”
Another user added: “Doesn’t matter how many letters light up on the dash. If there is too much water on the road the car will rise up and ride on a bow wave of water that the tread cannot clear.”
While one user said: “High speed plus heavy rain. Equals skating rink.”
Another user said: “Complete idiots. Why would anyone be driving at the speed limit in these conditions? You obviously don’t understand aquaplaning and should resit driving test.”
The dangers of aquaplaning were highlighted earlier this year by a paramedic – after a shocking crash in the West Country.
A South Western Ambulance Service paramedic shared photographs on twitter of an accident on the A303 – after a car aquaplaned and ended up on its roof.
Paramedic Shaun Howells said that the driver was “lucky” and was taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Around 3,000 people lost their lives or were seriously injured whilst driving in the rain according to Highway England in 2016.
And, in 2015, 197 people were killed on the roads in the United Kingdom, due to rainfall and 2,721 were seriously injured.
