![]() The amazing thing about ABS systems is that you can keep the brake pedal fully depressed while steering around obstacles the computer will adjust the braking force at each wheel to allow you to maneuver while simultaneously slowing down. The computer will do the rest, keeping each wheel braking as aggressively as possible based on the available traction. If you are in a skid from which you can't recover or you need to avoid an obstacle-and your vehicle has ABS- push the brake pedal down hard, and don't let up. All new vehicles on the road today are equipped with anti-lock brakes, which use an onboard computer to optimize the car's braking in extreme conditions. If all else fails and you need to stop as quickly as possible in snow or on ice, it's time to engage the help of your car's anti-lock-brake system (ABS). If an impact is imminent, don't be afraid to stand on the brake pedal as described in point number six. And you can gently (remember point number one) use your brakes if you think you can recover without hitting anything. No matter which type of skid you're experiencing, make sure you keep your wheels pointed in the direction you want to be going. As the rear wheels regain traction, steer back in the original direction. Ease off the accelerator and stay off the brakes. If, say, the rear is swinging to the left, turn the wheel to the left. Then aim where you want to go as your traction returns.įor a rear-wheel skid-where the rear tires lose traction and you feel yourself beginning to spin out-quickly turn the steering wheel in the same direction that the rear is sliding. In a beat or two, the front tires should regain traction. First, don't panic- and don't stab the brakes! Instead, do the following:įor a front-wheel skid-where the front tires lose grip and the car turns in a wider arc than you expect-ease off the gas. Skids, even big ones, can be managed, and you can bring the car back under full control in short order. Sooner or later you will hit a slick spot and get a queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach as your car starts to slide away from the direction in which you want to be heading. Racing drivers know that you almost always end up where you are looking that's one of the reasons they're so good at recovering from skids. Let your peripheral vision take care of whatever you're trying to avoid. If you feel your car beginning to skid, always, always, look where you want to go- not where the car is heading at that precise moment. Always ease into the accelerator so that nothing untoward happens abruptly. And do not accelerate aggressively when turning tight corners in town on snowy or slushy streets. Again, ease back on the accelerator until you are no longer applying any throttle this allows the car to regain grip. If you're turning and see a blinking amber light, this is also the stability-control system alerting you that the car is beginning to slide from your intended path. And ease up on the accelerator so the tires regain their grip. (It's an outline of a car with squiggly lines behind it.) If you're accelerating in a straight line and this light is blinking, this is the stability-control system warning you that the wheels that drive the car are slipping. How much traction do you actually have on a snowy road? One way to know before you get into trouble is to understand what one particular small, amber, flashing light in the instrument cluster means. Driving carefully and safely takes extra concentration. Allow double the stopping distance when the road is wet, triple on snow, and even more on ice. The slipperier it gets, the farther down the road you should look-and think. Pretend there's a cup of scalding coffee in your lap and drive so as not to spill it. Why? Jerky movements with the controls easily unstick tires that have a tenuous grip on the slippery road, so every turn of the wheel, push of the brakes, and movement of the throttle must be deliberate, gentle, and gradual. The key to safe driving in snow is being smooth with the steering wheel, accelerator, and brakes. ![]() Years of driving and testing cars (and winter tires) in wintry conditions have taught us that following these nine simple winter-driving rules will greatly improve your chances of arriving at your destination calm, collected, comfortable, and-most important-safe. ![]() Whether they did or not, one thing's for sure: you don't want to be that person.Īnd you don't have to be. If you live where the snow flies, you've seen overconfident drivers blow by you on a snowy road and wondered if-and maybe even secretly hoped-they'd end up in a ditch.
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