Just a few square inches of rubber at each of your car's four corners is all that keeps you on the road. It's pretty amazing when you think about it. Several thousand pounds of steel, plastic, glass and you -- all kept under control by four small "contact patches" of tire tread.
Now imagine what happens when you drive over slick, ice-covered surfaces. On a curve, the car will try to keep on going straight ahead -- and right off the road. The inertia keeps it going in that direction -- and the lack of traction prevents you from being able to make corrections.
If you are on a straight stretch that's covered with black ice and you tap the brakes (even if you have ABS) sudden weight transfer could cause the car to go into a sidewise slide. Often, the only thing that will stop it is an impact with another car -- or a telephone pole.
It's best to avoid driving in icy conditions, of course -- but sometimes we can't help being caught in a storm. So here are some practical driving tips to help avoid getting into an accident when the weather turns wicked:
* Reduce speed. Even if you have four-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive, your vehicle's ability to stop/slow down on ice and snow is no better than any other car's. And you'll need more room to come to a stop on wet/snow/ice-slicked roads than you would on dry pavement. By dropping your speed, you also reduce the amount of time/space you'll need to safely come to a complete stop -- and significantly increase your odds of avoiding an accident.
* In winter weather, double or triple your following distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead of you. This will give you more time to slow down -- and more time to consider worst-case alternatives (such as steering into a ditch rather than piling into the car ahead).
* Avoid oversteering or "jerky" movements of the wheel. Change directions gradually and smoothly. Abrupt lane changes or sudden steering inputs can l throw the weight of the car around and that could be just enough to overcome whatever little traction you've got -- resulting in a spin-out or slide.
*If you need to stop quickly, depress the brake pedal gradually and smoothly (on cars without anti-lock brakes). If you sense the wheels about to lock up, back off the pedal and downshift the transmission into a lower gear; the "engine braking" effect will help slow the car without causing the wheels to lock-up. This works with both manual and automatic transmissions. With a manual, shift to the next lowest gear; with an automatic, move the shift lever from "Drive" to the next lowest position.
* If you have ABS, push the brake pedal all the way down for maximum braking force -- and do not let up. The ABS will prevent the wheels from locking up and you will still be able to steer the car. Make sure you know whether your vehicle has ABS -- and brake accordingly.
* If you don't have ABS and the brakes begin to lock, the car will often go into a slide; this is especially dangerous, because once you've lost control of the car, recovering control is often difficult, even for a very good driver with special training. For novice/average skill drivers, if a serious skid doesn't result in an accident, it's usually just a matter of being lucky. If your car does not have ABS and you feel the wheels locking up, lift off the brake pedal immediately. In addition to preventing (or at least lessening) the skid, you will recover the ability to steer the car -- which you'd have lost if you kept your foot down and the wheels remained locked up.
On ABS-equipped vehicles, meanwhile, the thing to do is push the pedal to the floor and hold it there; the ABS system will automatically prevent the wheels from locking up and the vehicle should therefore not go into a dangerous skid. Make sure you know for sure what kind of braking system your car or truck has before you need to know!
*Use momentum to your advantage. In other words, keep moving -- if it is safe to do so. While it's important to obey traffic laws, sometimes common sense overrides rigid adherence to rules. For example, if you come to a stop sign at the top of a hill with several cars coming up behind you, it's not necessarily the smart move to come to a complete stop and risk either getting stuck or, worse, sliding back down the hill and hitting the cars behind you. Assuming you can clearly see the intersection and there are no other cars attempting to come through, a "rolling stop" in such circumstances might be saferthan risking the loss of your traction and forward momentum.
* When a rear wheel drive car loses traction, typically the back end of the car will start to "fishtail." If this happens, back off the gas and attempt to regain control by steering in the direction of the skid. Often, just backing off the gas will cause the car to stop fishtailing -- and the tail will snap back into line. Avoid the temptation to hit the brakes in a skid; this will only make it worse. Gently steer your way out of it -- and try not to panic.
* Front-wheel-drive cars are usually better in the snow and ice than rear-drive cars because all the weight of the engine and transmission are on top of the drive wheels, which gives better traction and thus the car is less apt to spin-out than a rear-drive car. On the other hand, if a bad spin happens, the front-drive car is also a bit more tricky to recover precisely because most of the weight is on one end of the car rather than more equally distributed front-to-rear.
Some hints, tricks and suggestions:
*Put something heavy (a couple of 50-lb. bags of sand, for example) in the trunk of rear wheel drive cars (and 2WD trucks and SUVs) during winter months. The added weight on the drive wheels will improve traction -- and if you have sand in the trunk, you can use it to free yourself by spreading some on an ice-covered street.
*Make sure you have decent tires. "Yul Brynners" (bald tires) or high performance summer tires (which are almost as bad as baldies in snow and ice) should be avoided. All-season tires are fine, but for maximum grip (if you live in a part of the country with serious winter weather), the small hassle of switching over to specific-use snow tires is a smart move. A set of four snow tires is a whole lot cheaper than a $5,000 body shop bill -- and the jacked-up insurance premiums that go with that.
* If it's really bad outside, take the bus/train (or bum a ride) if you drive any kind of sports car. The combination of performance tires and low ground clearance that typifies these specialty cars and makes them so fun to drive on dry pavement is exactly what makes them the worst things to be in when it snows or if there is ice on the ground.
And if the worst happens and you find yourself in a skid that you can't control or steer out of, try to plan your impact to minimize the damage to yourself, others and your vehicle (in that order). For example, you may have enough time and enough control left to choose what you will hit. If possible, go for something with "give" -- such as a snowbank or grassy ditch. And try and hit it sideways, rather than head-on. You can use small trees and bushes to slow your vehicle down. At this point, don't worry so much about body damage to the car. Worry about damage to your own body.
The goal is to avoid a full-force impact with a stationary object, such as a big tree, utility pole or something like that.
And: It's always better to be in a single car accident involving just your vehicle than it is a multi-car accident. There's less total damage this way -- and you don't have to deal with the guilt of causing personal injury to someone else.
The best thing to do -- if you have an understanding boss -- is just stay home and sleep the day away.
