HOW NOT TO SKID
17 February 2006 - IAM Institute of Advanced Motorists

Driving tips from the IAM: 50 years of driving road safety

If you are still scraping ice from your windscreen in the morning, the
potential danger of ice on the road remains. Ice makes driving particularly
hazardous and many drivers are still caught out at this time of year because
they fail to ''read the road''. Bends, hills and parked vehicles are all
suddenly more difficult to negotiate.

What causes a skid? Many people blame poor road conditions, but that isn''t
true; a skid is almost always the result of a driver''s actions. If you have
ever been in a skid, you will probably remember that you were either
changing speed or direction - or both - just before you started skidding.

You have a limited amount of tyre grip available and your vehicle will skid
when one or more of the tyres loses normal grip on the road. Using the
brakes, accelerator and steering applies a force that can cause a skid if it
overcomes the force that keeps the tyres gripped on the road surface. And
it takes much less force to break the grip of the tyres on a slippery road
surface.

The forces that can break the grip of the tyres on the road and cause a skid
are:

* excessive speed for the conditions
* coarse steering combined with a speed that isn''t in itself excessive
* braking suddenly, or harshly or
* heavy acceleration

Minimise the risk of skidding by taking note of the road and weather
conditions. Motorcyclists do this automatically, but car drivers tend to
just scrape the windscreen and then set off without acknowledging that the
road surface may be less than perfect in places.

When the roads are slippery, use the controls - brakes, steering, and
accelerator gently, to avoid skidding: it''s far easier to avoid a skid than
correct one. If you do start to skid, your first action should be to remove
the cause. If excessive speed is the cause (it''s the most common one) take
your foot off the accelerator and steer smoothly in the direction of the
skid until the tyres regain their grip, then steer back onto your intended
course. In icy or wet conditions, get into the habit of doubling your
normal following distance.

www.iam.org.uk

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