Turning into a skid?

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Um. I haven't done much driving in snow or ice.

I've always heard you're supposed to "turn into a skid," but I don't really understand what that means. Am I supposed to turn in the direction the front of my car is going, or the back?

I've tried envisioning it, but I get all headachy and confused.

So. Let's say I'm driving and the back of my car starts skidding to the right, causing my front to skid left. Do I turn the steering wheel to the right (which seems like the instinctive thing to do, but then why give any special instructions?), or do I turn the steering wheel left (which seems non-intuitive, and therefore maybe what I'm supposed to do)?

I feel like McQueen with the whole "turn right to go left" thing or whatever. :p
 
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luckyclov

New member
One of the most important factors in skid recovery (I just gigglesnorted typing that...because I'm 10:rolleyes:), is to either know when/how to ease off/on the gas and/or ease off/on the brakes/brake appropriately.

This is pretty helpful, in a mostly non-confusing way:

Learn how to control a skid: Although this is probably best learned and practiced on a driving course, Pearl describes what you should do if you find yourself in an oversteer situation (meaning: your car is turning too much). "You have to go against your natural tendencies," he says. "Turn into the skid. You also need to accelerate." That last piece of advice seems to freak people out the most, he admits. "People don't think about accelerating to control the car." However, many oversteer skids can be controlled and a disaster averted simply by releasing the brake and gently accelerating. This transfers the weight from the front to the rear wheels, which allows you to steer into the direction of the skid, gain control of the vehicle and continue safely on your way. If you drive a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, cautions Pearl, be careful not to over-accelerate or the tires may spin and you will oversteer and slide out of the turn. In an understeer skid (when your car refuses to turn and is sliding), once again it's important not to react instinctively by over-correcting the steering wheel, by braking or by doing both simultaneously. Understeering is usually caused by entering a corner too quickly and then turning. To turn the vehicle effectively, your wheels need grip. If you react to an understeer skid by turning more, you're only asking for more grip, which is unavailable. The same is true if you brake. Instead, Pearl advises, in an understeer skid, carefully adjust your steering wheel until you regain some grip at the front wheels. Once grip is restored, gently and precisely add steering.
 

sailingdaddy

New member
Let's say I'm driving and the back of my car starts skidding to the right, causing my front to skid left. Do I turn the steering wheel to the right (which seems like the instinctive thing to do, but then why give any special instructions?), or do I turn the steering wheel left (which seems non-intuitive, and therefore maybe what I'm supposed to do)?

It depends a little bit of WHY you are skidding in relation to RWD/FWD/AWD, but in the classic example of a RWD car where the rear is breaking out right, you steer to the right. That may seem like the normal thing to do, but in real life it's not that simple. The typical situation is that you are in a left hand turn and loose RWD traction while under power, go wide in the turn with your rear end. A lot of people will want to turn more left, to get back on the road, which may spin the car around. Turning right may recover the skid, but only if there is enough space, otherwise it may take you off the road.

FWD cars often don't get rear skids, the typical thing is that they will just go straight with turned wheels. The only thing that helps is to let off the acc. Not much more you can do.

Practice some skids safely in a VERY open space to get a feel for your car. And get real snow tyres to greatly reduce the risk of skidding in the first place.

/Marcus
 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin
Staff member
If you have stability control, theoretically the car does what is needed to keep you moving the way you are steering. You shouldn't necessarily oversteer or understeer. Of course, if you have no traction, you may be able to anticipate what's coming ahead in the road, something stability control can't do.
 

mimieliza

New member
I've done lots of snow driving, in a front wheel drive car without snow tires (I do have snow tires NOW, but never used them when I was younger). Steering into the skid is not really accurate. You do want to avoid over-correcting by jerking the steering wheel the direction you think the car SHOULD go. Slow, steady movements, both steering and braking are what help you gain control. Also, understand your car - if you have traction control and ABS, your car will do a lot of the work for you. On ice, though, you can skid with ABS anyway.

My top advice for ice and snow:
1. Slow speed. Always err on the side of going slower than you think you need to. This especially applies when you are starting from a full stop or cornering. Drive at the speed at which YOU can remain in control of your vehicle. Do not try to match the speed of other cars that are going faster than you - they may have 4 wheel drive, snow tires or chains, an experienced winter driver, or just a reckless driver.

2. Increased stopping distance. Stay REALLY FAR BACK from other cars. When you are coming to an intersection where you will need to stop, begin slowing waaayyyyyy early.

3. Test your braking power - try some (gentle) braking when you don't NEED to stop to see how your car handles for that drive's road conditions.

4. Having said that, avoid braking and brake early. Try to do most of your slowing and stopping by simply taking your foot off the accelerator. If you need to brake, so it well before your stopping point. Leave plenty of space to do this. If you find you are skidding, braking can make it worse - gently accelerating gets your tires spinning again (instead of skidding) and can help you get traction.

5. Beware of hills - even small ones. ANY incline will get you in trouble. Try to anticipate when you will come to an incline and reduce your speed accordinging.

6. Trip planning - avoid hills, busy intersections, curves, and high-speed roads if possible. If you have driven the route before, you may know where the tricky spots are and can plan ahead. You may also learn when/where your city is most likely to do snow removal, sand, gravel or salt, all of which will improve the road condition.

7. Damage control - if the weather is terrible and you do not have snow tires or really good all weather tires, you will most likely skid or spin out at some point. If you are moving slowly and maintaining a large stopping distance, you should have time to mitigate the potential for damage in a skid. Steer towards curbs - hitting a curb at low speed is great for stopping an out of control skid, and likely to reduce damage. If you are coming into an intersection and find that you can't stop, lay on the horn as you go through the intersection to warn other drivers that you have lost control of your vehicle. Going slowly also ensures that even in a worst-case scenario - you hit another car - it is unlikely that you or anyone else will be injured.

8. Studless snow tires - they really, really make a huge difference in how your car handles in bad weather. Studless snow tires are NOT the same as all-season tires. And studless snow tires handle well in the rain, too (studded tires sometimes have poorer performance in rain).
 

Keeanh

Well-known member
Awesome job, Mimi!

The one thing I want to add is:

Learn to use your gears! Downshifting instead of braking will prevent a LOT of skidding. And even going uphill, if you put the vehicle in 2nd or even 1st and go slowly, you can maintain traction long after your wheels would have been spinning if you'd tried to "gun it" up the hill.
 

mimieliza

New member
Awesome job, Mimi!

The one thing I want to add is:

Learn to use your gears! Downshifting instead of braking will prevent a LOT of skidding. And even going uphill, if you put the vehicle in 2nd or even 1st and go slowly, you can maintain traction long after your wheels would have been spinning if you'd tried to "gun it" up the hill.

Oh, that is a good one! I have always driven automatics, so I never think of gears. But of course that is why auto transmissions have the option to shift into 1st or 2nd. I'm going to try this on my next icy, dicey 6:30 AM drive into work.

And staying in 1st or 2nd will also help you stick to rule number one: DRIVE SLOWLY! :)
 

amr40509

New member
Best advice I can give:

The first time you know it is going to snow, wake up at 5AM, go SLOWLY to the nearest big open parking lot, and play. You can read about driving in low traction all day...but you to have do it to get the feel of it. 30 min of learning where the limit is and how to recover if you get PAST that limit will probably be more then enough to get you comfortable. (note: be sure you know where curbs/poles are BEFORE you start sliding :) )

I grew up on a farm and spent HOURS as a 10-16 year old playing on an ATV in the snow every year (steering with the throttle, manual shifting, doing doughnuts and power slides). By the time I could drive a car, driving in the snow wasn't an issue.
 

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