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Top 10 Tips To Survive Driving Emergencies - Part 3

Running Off the Road, Front Skids and Rear Slides
In the final chapter of our three part series on 'Tips To Survive Driving Emergencies', we will tell you about how to successfully handle driving emergencies. You will learn about how to react to and recover from frequent driving disasters including a front or rear tyre slide situation. Although these incidents happen on a very frequent basis, due to heavy traffic or difficult weather conditions, few people know the strategies to cope up with them.

Emergency #8: Dropping Two Wheels off the Road

Of all the driving emergencies we have mentioned here, this one is perhaps the easiest to handle. Nevertheless, it may result in an accident if you are not equipped with the skills to handle it. Here is what you should do. If you drop two wheels off the road, avoid the urge to get back on the pavement in a hurry. First thing first then. Smoothly reduce the pressure on the accelerator. Try to stay away from the brake pedal unless you can't avoid it at all, such as if you are headed downhill or an upcoming obstacle. Reduce the car's speed to say like 40 or 50 kmph.

Then gently turn the wheel a very small amount. And if you have to move more than five degrees and going too fast, let the car slow down before turning. In case you encounter an obstacle, brake harder but don't turn the steering more than 15 degrees. In case you turn the steering say, 45 or 60 degrees, the front tyres will regain traction before the rear ones, and you might spin and shoot across the road into oncoming traffic.

Emergency #9 Front-Tyres Slide

Car manufacturers try their best to make the cars in such a way that they lose front traction before the rear grip. When front tyres lose grip, remove your foot from the accelerator, and stay away from the brake pedal. Also avoid steering, and wait for the traction to return to normal. Turning the wheel more or pressing the brake can prove disastrous.

Emergency #10: Rear-Tyres Slide

The problem with a rear-tyres slide is that you cannot successfully react to them, you must anticipate it, or else you run the chances of spinning. You must act appropriately, put in just the right amount of countersteering, and anticipate the return of rear traction and remove the precise amount of countersteer at the correct rate.

Practice, again, plays a major role in learning how to handle a rear tyre slide. There are a few ways to learn the sliding tail. You can practice at the "slick track" go-kart tracks that are found in many fun parks. When you're among the fastest drivers around the track, you're probably adequate when it comes to catching a rear-tyres slide.

Another way of practicing would be doing the skid-pad course at a performance driving school. You can get plenty of chance to practice under professional guidance.

Additionally this is what you can do to deal with a loss of rear traction. The instant a rear slide happens, press the brakes hard and hold it till the car comes to a complete stop. Count to three before proceeding. If you release the brakes before the car has come to a stop, even if you move as slow as 15kmph, the car will go whichever way the tyres are pointed. And this will make the car to hit something that you were trying to avoid in the first place.

In motor sports we have seen a driver spin out at 175 mph and miraculously miss the wall, but while going no more than 25, release the brakes and smash into the wall or another car. This just means that the driver lost control of which way the steering wheel was pointed.

Driving successfully through a driving emergency requires a lot of practice. For each of the driving emergencies, we have provided tips and also practice examples. While practicing, you must make sure to keep yourself and your car safe. Practicing these tips is likely to cause slightly accelerated brake wear, and quite a bit of tyre wear too. You can pick up a cheap pair of tyres before starting your practice.