How to Drive Safely Through a Skid
Driving safely can only happen when you’re educated in how to handle all the driving contingencies that may come up. Learning to navigate your vehicle safely through a skid is one of the many potentially dangerous things a driver can face. You can, however, know exactly how to get out of that skid easily and in one piece.
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Instructions
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Be aware of what a skid is. Your car goes into a skid when the front or rear tires have lost their ‘grip’ or traction on the road. Rather than you steering your car where you want it to go, the car is now sliding of its own accord. This means your brakes won’t work right and neither will your steering. The car, for the moment, is out of your control. This is referred to as ‘fishtailing.’
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Know about losing traction on the rear wheels. When your back wheels lose their traction, your car goes into an oversteer. This makes your car’s front end swing over to the left or right of where you want it to go. This is usually caused by a combination of slick surfaces and too high a speed, or jerky steering or braking. Oversteering is also called plowing.
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Understand an understeer. This is a front tire skid that usually happens when you’re taking a corner and traveling too fast. In this scenario your car starts to slide to where the car’s weight is being carried on the sidewalls of your tires where there’s no tire traction to grip the road. You lose the ability to control the steering wheel and the force of the back tires pushes you away from the turn in a straight rather than a curved line and often right into oncoming traffic.
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Take your foot off the gas and the brake pedal immediately when you start to feel either kind of skid. The accelerator can only get you into more trouble right now and your brakes won’t be of any help. Your first priority during a skid is too slow the vehicle down. That’s the only way to regain control of the car. Don’t take your hands off the steering wheel. Steer gently in the direction you want the car to go. Don’t yank on the wheel or pull it too hard or you’ll make the car’s skidding worse.
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Apply gentle pressure to the brakes after you feel the car slow down when you’re recovering from understeering (front wheel traction loss or skid). So, if the car is sliding in a straight line when you’re trying to turn, you need to gently apply the brakes as you slow down. Don’t jam on the brakes or you could skid worse or even spin out completely.
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Apply just a little pressure on the gas pedal after you start to slow down when you’re recovering from understeering which is when the back wheels are skidding. Again, don’t jerk or pull on the wheel but just gently steer it to help to regain a little traction.
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Practice getting out of a skid in a big empty parking lot when it’s raining. Make sure it’s all right for you to be there and be sure to avoid any light poles. If you’re still a new driver, make sure to take along a parent or other seasoned driver.
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Tips & Warnings
Learn about skidding before it happens! Practice it in a safe place with supervision if you're a minor so that you'll be prepared when it happens.
Never jerk a steering wheel or jam on the brakes when skidding. it will make it harder to regain control of your car.
