Losing control of your car is a scary experience. Learn how to prevent and correct skidding in bad weather conditions @PartsAvatar Car parts.

Canadian winters especially snow can turn a safe road into a slippery one. Don’t worry, Armed with our knowledge and inexpensive Aftermarket auto parts, Parts avatar Canada has all of your bases covered~ Care for your Car parts at partsavatar.ca !

Car skidding is very dangerous and sometimes it can lead grave accidents in the road. You will notice skidding generally happening on wet or slippery surfaces.

Bad weather conditions like snow, rain or ice can turn a safe road into risky one. It can be a terrifying experience for you when you feel that you have lost control of your car when it skids out all of a sudden. While experiencing skidding if try many options like slamming brakes, turning the wheels in opposite direction or staring at the object we are about to hit, but unfortunately these measures are going to make the impact of skid worse. As the least damage impact you will need to replace auto steering system parts and car brake parts as they become prematurely worn.

So what makes your car skid? How to prevent it? How to steer out of skid? Read this article for your safety on icy or wet roads and avoid skid with preventive measures suggested by parts avatar.

Skid and its types

Skidding happens when your car loses traction from its wheels which can cause it to move uncontrollably. Either front wheels or rear wheels can experience traction lose in skid situation. In such situations, your tires may lose the control and grip on the road and will start sliding uncontrollably.

Keep in mind that if the tires don’t grip the ground it is like driving on the block of ice i.e. you will keep on sliding here and there until you crash into other object. In such situation, you will make things worse by applying brakes or tuning the wheel. In turn you will end up ruining brake pads and will need to replace car’s brake pads. There are different kinds of skid that you can face on slippery roads. Have a look!

Under steer or Front wheel traction lose

Under steer is caused when your front car wheels lose traction while cornering. When you turn into a corner, the front wheels slide sideways which means that the car travels forward rather than turning. You car will slide away from the centre of the curve and possibly hit the oncoming traffic. This is usually caused while taking a fast turn.

Under steer is the easiest type of skid to handle and also it is least dangerous. It can be caused either turning too fast into a corner or applying too much power as you exit the corner. If you turn to the corner too fast, the weight of the car shifts towards the sidewalls of the tires and it no longer provides gripping.

Over Steer or Rear wheel traction lose

Over steer happens when your car’s rear wheels lose traction while cornering. The wheels will slide towards the outside of the curve. Your car’s front end will point either to the left or the right of the intended path despite your steering input.

The front wheel begins to turn but the back wheel spins out to the outside of the curve causing the rear of the car to fishtail or slide from side to side. It has further sub types as: power over steer and lift off over steer.

Power over steer is usually used in drifting to achieve big, Smokey power slides. Only rear wheels can perform power slides. Lift off over steer is much pronounced in rear engine mid size cars like Toyota MR2. The solid lump of metal at the rear acts like a pendulum.

Hydroplaning

Hydroplaning or aquaplaning is caused when your car’s tires rise up on the top of a layer of water because the tread cannot disperse the water fast enough. Once this happens, you will briefly lose steering ability because your tires are unable to get any traction. This scenario happens when it is raining or snowing.

You will notice a small jerk in the direction you are heading once your tires regain traction. The shallower the tread on your tires the more likely you are to hydroplane.

Wheels locking up

Slamming or stepping on the car’s brakes too hard will cause the wheels to lock up. In such situations, avoid driving too close to the vehicle in front of you.

If your car’s wheels lock up, don’t accelerate further. Instead carefully steer the vehicle and brake slowly. If the roads have thick sheet of ice on them, wheels can lock up due to the tires attempting to grip the surface of the road.

What to do?

There is no different process of recovering from a skid for front and rear wheel drives.

Take your feet off the pedal

Whenever you feel like your car is skidding the first thing to do is to get your foot of the accelerator. Do not press the brake pedal as it may make things worse. It is useless to apply brakes in such situation and the acceleration is the root cause for skidding.

To slow down the car let your skidding tires gain some traction and they will eventually contribute in slowing your car down. Do not panic and get your feet off the accelerator and brake pedal.

Gentle steering input

Always steer in the direction you want the car to go. It is foolish to steer into the skid.  While the car is skidding, look directly at where you want to go not at the objects you want to avoid. For example if you focus on a tree, your hands will follow your direction and that’s where you are going to end up.

Whether your front or rear wheels are skidding, correct direction to steer is inevitably in the opposite direction that your front end is headed. So, once you know the direction to steer, make sure to steer gently.

Re- distribution of vehicle weight

As you begin to regain the traction on wheels, you’ll want to gently apply the brakes or the accelerator. Gentle braking is done to re distribute the weight to those wheels which will help them gain even more traction. So, if your front wheels are skidding, you will want to apply brakes gently and if the rear wheels are experiencing a skid then you will find the need to gently apply the accelerator.

So all in all, depending on the type of skid (rear or front), apply brake or the accelerator gently.

Few tips for preventing skids

There are easy techniques that can keep you safe and prevent skid situation to happen.

1. Choose the speed according to weather condition. It is advised to drive slowly on wet, icy or snowy conditions. Fast driving often results in skidding.

2. Avoid phone calls and other distracting chores while driving and keep your hands on the steering and eyes focused on the road.

3. Maintain a proper distance between you and the car ahead of you. This way you will have plenty of space to react if something happens.

4. Decrease the car’s speed while taking a turn – it will help you stay in control.

5. Check your tires tread depth. Tread determines the traction on the road.

Using these techniques will help to prevent skidding and gain control of the car. Be attentive, stay calm and keep both hands on steering for a safe drive.

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