Car Skidding 101

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One of the scariest lessons to learn when teaching your teenager to drive is skidding. While there is no real way to show your teenager how to maneuver a car when actually skidding, (which would be dangerous to simulate) there are a few tips on what they can do if they get into a situation like this.

There are two main types of skidding: over-steering (fishtailing), and under-steering (plowing).

• Over-steering occurs when the front wheels start to turn but the back wheels spin out to the outside of the curve causing the car to “fishtail.” If this should happen, let off the gas and keep the foot off the breaks. If you already have your foot on the break, let up slowly. Disengage the clutch (if you drive a manual car) then quickly steer the car into the direction you want to go. This is known as “steering into the direction of the skid”. As you turn back into the right direction, counter-steer to get back on track in the original direction you were headed.
• Under-steering occurs when your car doesn’t turn as tightly as you want it to. Typically this happens when the pavement is wet causing little traction between the tires and the pavement. The tires cannot grip as well causing the car to make a much wider turn then it should have.

Another major concern when skidding is hydroplaning. This happens when a car hits a puddle of water, or when it is raining or snowing. Any form of moisture on the ground can cause a tire to lift up off the pavement slightly, allowing water to get under the tire. Once this happens, for a brief period of time your car has no steering ability because your tires are unable to get any traction with the pavement.

One way to figure out if your car is beginning to hydroplane is that your rpm gage will suddenly rev a little bit and your tires, depending on front or rear wheel drive, will start to slide out just a little. Once you regain traction with the pavement, you’ll notice a small jerk in the direction you’re heading. If this happens, don’t worry, as it happens frequently with no harm done.

Noticing the danger signs is one of the biggest lessons to teach a teenager when learning how to drive. Therefore, teaching them to stay calm in all types of weather conditions is the best advice you can give.

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