Tips For Handling A Sliding Vehicle On Icy Roads

With winter upon the Ohio area, many people are making various preparations. From completing tasks relating to winterizing their houses to preparing for the holidays, most individuals find themselves busy this time of year. Numerous tasks they complete are related to preventing issues that could result from winter weather.

These preparations are important for many activities. In particular, as you are on the road, you will certainly want to make sure that you accommodate for icy conditions as you make your commutes. Before you know it, you could easily wind up sliding on a roadway and feeling a sudden sense of panic.

Handling a slide

This feeling of panic often contributes to drivers being unable to keep their vehicles under control. Once they feel their vehicles slide, they start hitting the brakes or jerking the steering wheel as they try to correct the situation. However, these actions often cause more harm than good. Instead, you and other drivers may want to keep the following tips in mind when it comes to correcting a slide:

• Avoid overcorrecting: If you turn your steering wheel too far in one direction or the other, you could cause your vehicle to start rotating faster instead of straightening up. Instead, quick and precise corrections are necessary.
• Avoid braking: While your instinct to stop a slide may be to hit the brakes, that action can actually cause the vehicle to slide more. Additionally, braking too quickly when not sliding could send your vehicle into a slide.
• Notice the direction of the slide: When your vehicle begins to slide, determine which direction the rear of the vehicle is sliding. You will need to turn your steering wheel that direction in order to work toward straightening.
• Prepare to maneuver: Turning the steering wheel once is often not enough to completely straighten a vehicle. The end may slide back the opposite direction after the first correction, and additional quick steering is necessary to fully straighten.

Unfortunately, most drivers do not have the needed ability to quickly and precisely steer a vehicle out of a slide.

Sliding accident

Hopefully, you will not find yourself sliding along the roads this winter as you do your best to practice safe driving. However, if another driver slides out of control and crashes into your vehicle, you may end up seriously injured. If so, you may want to consider your legal options for seeking compensation for allowable damages.