A skid develops when the
tyres of a vehicle have been pushed beyond their level of grip on
a given surface and they lose traction. Most people describe a skid
as a total loss of steering control combined with a vague, light
feel to the steering wheel – this is know as a front wheel
skid. Sometimes however, a skid can manifest itself in the form
of a rear wheel skid, which tends to occur more in rear wheel drive
cars. This is when the rear wheels lose traction. In this situation
the driver can often feel the back of the car come around on itself!
What is a Front
Wheel Skid?
A front wheel skid is when
the front wheels of a vehicle lose traction. Cars which are powered
by the front wheels (front wheel drive) tend to suffer from this
problem a great deal more than cars with rear wheel drive. This
is mainly due to the fact that the front wheels are driving the
car and so demand more of the tyres grip than the rear tyres. Front
wheel skids usually occur under heavy breaking, where the front
wheels lock-up or when trying to go around a corner too quickly
for the road conditions. A front wheel skid is also known as under-steer,
as the car will typically carry on in a straight direction, regardless
of how much steering input you apply.
What is a Rear
Wheel Skid?
A rear wheel skid occurs
when the rear wheels lose traction. This tends to happen either
under heavy braking, especially if there is a fault with the rear
brakes (which applies to cars with front or rear wheel drive), or
more commonly when going around a corner too quickly! In this respect,
rear wheel cars tend to suffer from rear wheel skids (also known
as over-steer) more than front wheel drive cars, as the rear wheels
propel the car, and so put extra demands on the tyres. When a car
over-steers, it will feel like it is trying to “spin”
itself around. However, unlike under-steer, you still have the ability
to control the front wheels. Effective control of the front wheels
in this situation can quickly remedy over-steer, but this takes
practise, which is where a skid pan is of such use.
How to Resolve
a Skid.
Front
Wheel Skid – If you encounter under-steer,
you should try and keep the wheels in the direction of the skid
(so they don’t bite when they gain traction again!) and remove
feet from pedals, engine braking will help you gain control. Try
and remain calm and anticipate getting the car on course once you
have steering control back.
Rear
Wheel Skid – If you encounter over-steer,
you need to steer into the skid. For example, if you are going around
an island or roundabout, and the car’s rear slides out to
the left, you need to carefully steer left (towards the skid) to
counteract the effect. You must also remember to remove feet from
the pedals, to allow engine braking to take effect. As with dealing
with a front wheel skid, smoothness, staying calm and early detection
are essential.
Although this advice will
give you a basic understanding of skids, there is no way of telling
how you may react in a real emergency situation without real life
experience. This is why if you are serious about learning the life
saving art of skid control, you must complete a session at a Skid
Pan…
A Skid Pan is normally
a disused piece of land (tarmac or concrete) which is constantly
covered in a thin layer of water to enable skid training to take
place. The cars used normally have slick tyres to easily invoke
a skid - allowing participants to lean how to detect and deal with
a skid in a safe and controlled environment.
