Farmer Chalk wrote:

Whilst I understand the arguments I would like to throw in an alternative view point…

On a heavily soaked road new tyres on the front will drastically reduce the chance of aquaplaning …they will clear most of the water before the rears roll over the same area… and you can maintain steering control rather than worn fronts which will pitch you into the nearest hedge..

Only a thought….

True, a tyre can only do two of the three things we expect from it,
awareness of road conditions, position in the road, speed and using the throttle to reduce speed
before brakes are needed, DAVE.

Many years ago I aquaplaned my Mini on a wet wintery night on the A38 near Burton on Trent at about 50mph.
I came over a brow and saw that the white lines ahead had disappeared. I gripped the steering wheel hard and then hit the layer of water. Instantly the Mini spun around 180 degrees and we flew across the water into the central reservation.
In those days there was no central barrier, just grass, and we were so very lucky not to cross into the opposite carriageway of on-coming vehicles. That would have been the end for me and my fiancé for sure.
Apart from knocking a tyre off its rim and the weight on mud on the windscreen stopping the wipers moving the car was undamaged.

One of the factors determining aquaplaning is the pressure the tyre places on the road. Wider tyres increase aquaplaning by reducing the pressure on the road. My Mini had "Wide Oval" tyres - they were the bees knees in those days - which didnt help.

Conversely road going bicycles dont even need tread as they apply sufficient pressure to make aquaplaning impossible below 100mph. Jules

"An interesting fact is that the Aquaplaning Speed is directly proportional to the square root of the Tyre Pressure."

Yes, because a small tyre supporting a relatively lot of weight (eg a bicycle) requires a lot of pressure to maintain the tyre shape but its the contact patch pressure which determines the tendency to aquaplane.
The 2 pressure are related - hence the equation - which says a bicycle will aquaplane at 98 mph with 100 psi tyres.

What about a solid tyre with no inflation pressure ? Jules