- Have you ever had a close call, a time when your vehicle was out of control?
- What did you do to regain control?
Here are some techniques for regaining control of your vehicle in different situations.
- What to do in inclement weather. In these conditions the best thing you can do is slow down. This may reduce the chance of losing control of the car.
- What to do if you lose control. If loss of control occurs due to a flat tire, a patch of wet leaves, gravel roads, oil, snow and ice or some other hazard: remain calm no matter what. Panicking won’t help.
- Look where you WANT to go, and point the wheels in that direction.
- Don’t slam on the brakes, but ease up on the gas pedal. If the car has anti-lock brakes, apply firm pressure to slow the vehicle instead of pumping the brake pedal.
- To avoid skids, brake before a curve, not during it.
- Try to brake while in a straight line and coast through the curve. If a gas pedal sticks, shift to neutral and apply the brakes.