Knowing what to do if your car skids will allow you to be in a position to respond to a situation while driving where you will lose control of the vehicle. Thus, in addition to staying calm in circumstances not prone to it, you will have to use all your skills to be able to redirect the situation. You must therefore ensure your own safety as well as that of the other drivers on the road and ensure that the damage is minimal.
Steps to follow:
First of all, you have to know the causes that cause a skid in order to try to prevent it from happening. This situation is normally due to the fact that the driver demands more from the car than he can give until it reaches the point where the wheels lose grip with the ground and the car moves laterally in an uncontrolled manner. Going too fast or braking too hard are the most common causes of skidding.
What you have to do if your car skids from the rear right after you’ve accelerated really hard, is take your foot off the accelerator pedal. In addition, the use of the steering wheel is key in this situation. You must turn the steering wheel to the same side, to which the rear wheels go. Also, you have to try to stay calm and make a smooth turn of the steering wheel, without suddenness.
If the skidding of the car also occurs due to acceleration but with the front axle, you should work gently with the steering but in this case turning the steering wheel to the opposite side of the skid. In other words, if the front wheels go to the right, it turns to the left and vice versa.
What you have to do if the skid occurs for another reason that is not related to sudden acceleration, is not to take your foot off the accelerator, since you will make the situation worse. You don’t have to push the pedal all the way down either, you just have to keep it at the same level it was when you skidded. You must act as described in instructions 2 and 3 in terms of turning the steering wheel, turning towards the same side of the skid if it is with the rear axle and towards the opposite if it is with the front one.
Although instinct will lead you to hit the brakes, don’t. Do not step on the clutch either, since doing so removes the engine brake, which is very helpful in these circumstances.
If you find that your car often skids when you drive properly, you may have a problem with your suspension or tires , which may be worn. You should go to your mechanic as soon as possible so that he can check it in order to prevent the car from putting you in a situation as dangerous as a skid.
