For those that would like to see the example clips shown at the end without pauses, here is the original footage: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-QyI4mjuGsQE.html
Dan Robinson the cast stone 7:52 should have applied the brakes very lightly in-between the corrections while the car hand a few moments of going in a straight line... But he never decreased speed at all ! so ended in the wall.
"with higher speeds the more likely you are to loose control due to ice" This isn't technically correct, speed alone does not cause wrecks in any circumstance. However when you are going faster, the time that is required to react to sudden changes in road conditions reduces. This is what causes most wrecks that involve speeding and ice. Slower is often better when conditions can change drastically without warning.
I think there is a reaction time factor, but the bigger difficulty is that the faster you're going, the harder it is to control your car. Most people don't understand the physics of it, so it's challenging, especially because the difficulty increases exponentially based on your speed..
Great video. I always say the most fun I ever had on the road was driving an Ambulance on snow. Never got above 30-40mph though - crashes are always slower than driving slowly.
I have lived in snowy areas and driven on icy roads all my life, and still found this video helpful. When you slow down on icy roads people tend to start honking at you. Let them honk. Never drive faster than you feel safe.
Tips for driving in icy conditions: Slow down. No, slow down more. No, even more slowly... Don't let the people around you dictate at what speed your driving.
Don't be cocky. That's the number one thing I've seen with bad drivers or just anybody who thinks they can do something only to end up killing themselves.
One thing that’s import to mention is the timing of correction in addition to being careful not to overcorrect. As soon as you feel the rear slipping out, you need to react and react proportionly. Being prepared for the oscillation is key and it's important to start turning the wheel back BEFORE the next oscillation. If you wait until the car snaps back in the other direction to start steering, it might be too late.
@@Kinkese Agreed peoples most common reaction from the guilty conscious of driving too fast for conditions is to let the foot off the gas. Even if they do not apply the brakes this will cause them to spin out of control. I loathe front wheel drive cars.
im honestly AMAZED at how these things arent taught in driving school. like every driver should know this not just for their own safety but for the safety of others. you never think itll happen to you until it does. and it WILL. happened to me in the rain but thank the lord no cars tboned me while i was gliding and thank god there was just grass on the shoulder
it is thought on how to drive in the winter. ETc - winter tires, chains (or however it is called on EN), but if u take your exam during summer there won't be any ice for u to practice
Every single thing this guy says is 100 percent accurate. This is an amazing teaching video. I drive an 18 wheeler and have personally tried all techniques in this video over the past 5 years of driving the country and they all worked for me and have kept me from wrecking out many times. Literally, do not panic. Steer into it. It'll straighten itself back out.
Sadly this is not true, many people will not have the feel to do this, much rather use the ABS and traction control of your car. They are there for a reason.
I had a high horsepower rear wheel drive mustang where the back end would kick to one side or the other if you accelerated too hard in too low of a gear, even on dry pavement. I learned really fast that most of the time when you feel the back end begin to slip, simply taking your foot off the gas can be enough to correct before total loss of traction. Whereas once you hit the brakes you've lost any remaining traction and ability to steer or control speed. Same with steering. Sometimes if you just let the steering wheel and wheels find their own path, they'll correct for you. I always loosen my grip and give the wheels a chance to pull in the direction they want to go before attempting to steer myself out of a spin.
@sly dankass I disagree. I drive an AWD manual and the engine will brake harder than I would with the clutch and slightly touching the brake pedal. However I've never slid out in my car I keep good tires on it and drive for the conditions. I did slide in my sister's Ford AWD but she had 70K miles on those tires (the ones that came with the car) but the traction control saved me I think. It was all less than 2 seconds.
@@010falcon locking up the brakes is only one way things can go wrong in slick conditions. Wheels don't have to lock in order to lose traction. Simple pressure differences between wheels can break traction. Tapping anti lock breaks in a turn can break traction.
I lost control of my car on black ice on the high way after coming from church service at night in 2019. I had my son which was four years old at the time. It was one of the scariest experience I had. My car started spinning out of control. I was terrified but by God's grace the car safely hit a snowbank which stopped the car. The car wasn't damaged and we were safe. I remember everything stopped. The cars stopped to witness what was happening. I remember sitting there in silence to relax before eventually driving off. I praise and thank God for delivering us that day.
I used to go to empty ice lots with my buddies all the time and have drifting sessions. Made me incredibly good with ice. And my baby sister just got her license, im taking her with us for her first winter. She’ll need it haha
We had to practice this in order to get my license. Braking and correcting slides on slippery surfaces. Its very fun to try when it is in controlled circumstances. Another thing in general when driving in icy conditions is to check your grip periodically. Just tap the brakes in a clear area and feel what kind of grip your got. And also kinda knowing what your vehicle is capable of. I actually like playing around in snowy conditions and always spends the first day of snow drifting a little bit when the roads are empty and unsalted. I helps build habits to get that instinctive reaction to correcting slides. Because the quicker you can correct a slide, the higher your chances of succes become, and not overcorrecting to much is also important and is something you have to get muscle memory to do well at.
Check grips periodically is exactly what I do each time before I drive out of my cul-de-sec and on the road which my wife can't understand and does not agree.
"We had to practice this in order to get my license" I wish it could be the same in more countries...Danish Licence ? Sveden ? Here in France, i had the luck to make some "car handling" training in a dedicated center ; wet glassy surfaced corners and others funny things ^^ Very helpful (to say the least) when i later had to face emergency situations !
Interesting to learn that was on your driving test! Being from the southern US, we definitely don’t get enough snow or ice for it to be required but I wonder if it is for any northern states. The information is invaluable regardless and that lack of requires education (and testing) is exactly what brings me here to this video. Solid advice about periodically checking your grip as well. Should you also do the same in wet & stormy conditions?
This is such an important subject! I first got my license at the beginning of a Canadian north winter. Our dad drilled into us what to do and to my delight, when my first skid hit on a busy bridge I just automatically turned the wheels into it, even though that seemed like I was turning toward the opposite traffic. My skid stopped almost instantly and I headed on. Heart beating hard I realized how important it had been to mentally practice the move ahead of time. I wouldn't have had the time to think it out at that moment.
Hi hello, tnk u for sharing ur experience....i really wanted to apply ur technique here in manitoba but manybof the driver here dont dont want to reduce their speed lower than 100km per hour...but for me i want to make my speed only on 50 to 80km for my safety but many canadians advice to always follow the 100km. I hope that other canadians will also consider others to avoid slide. Can u give me some advice? Tnk u
@@darwincaguia6230 hello fellow Manitoba👋 drive in the city when you can, and avoid single lane highways when possible. 80 is pretty safe for *most drivers/vehicles on the hwy and I don't recommend doing 50kmh almost ever on the highway. If you're having to go that slow on the highway probably better to stay home. You can account for other drivers by driving more defensively and that's about it. Let people by you that want to and give yourself extra time :)
Watching this vid I just realized I was never taught any of this, but I still knew what to do when I started driving and was caught in my first slide. I think I must know how to from learning how to drift in car racing games when I was a kid, and then learning how to drift snowmobiles around corners on the trails. It's the same physics for all 3 situations. I honestly wish this was taught in driving schools, maybe with the use of a simulator for safety. There should also be a winter driving portion of the driver's test, it's ridiculous that there isn't considering most of us living in Canada have anywhere from 3-7 months of snow on the ground in a given year.
@@darwincaguia6230 I've definitely been in situations where I've had to go 50km or even lower on highways, but it's usually due to extreme whiteout conditions or heavy fog. And in those situations, everyone is going 50km, usually with their flashers on. I would say if you find yourself frequently going a lot slower than the flow of traffic that maybe you just need a bit more confidence with winter driving, and unfortunately that confidence usually doesn't come unless you get lots of practice. I would say definitely get some good quality snow/ice tires if you haven't already, and if possible drive a vehicle that has extra features for bad weather (4WD/AWD, traction control for wet/snowy conditions). Going to an empty parking lot to practice after a fresh snow is very important to get the 'feel' of what to do when your vehicle starts sliding, it really helps if your body instinctually knows what to do as soon as you start sliding. Also remember that you're very unlikely to start sliding if you're driving in a straight line, most of the danger comes from turning, stopping and hills. So just make sure before you encounter those things that you're going slow enough to do them safely. And in the event that you need to drive significantly slower than other drivers, make sure to move to the right lane and put your flashers on. Hope this helps a bit and drive safe! 😊
Best (or most useful) tutorial on youtube. This saved me last winter. I was driving on the highway during snow storm (yes I am an idiot for driving during a snow storm) and I zoned out and was driving at about 55 mph. I didnt mean to but it was a long drive and like I said, I zoned out. I started to slide and I was able to correct my slide using the rules of this video and every one was safe with no accident. Thank you for this video.
The scariest driving I’ve ever experienced was the first blizzard of the year in Denver last year. People were going anywhere between 15 and 70 mph on the highway in the dark of night and snow covering all of the lane markers. Thank you for educating those who never needed to know this information until now. No judgement. Just drive safe!
Here in Sweden I bought my first car in November last year. It was a sunny day, no snow that winter yet. On my way back home, all of a sudden a blizzard begins. It was one of the snowiest days ive ever witnessed, and it went from 0 to 100 real quick. The worst part is the car was still on summer tires. Had to drive home in first/second gear in anything between 5 to max 20mph on a 70 mph highway. And even at such low speeds, the car wanted to slide every now and then + braking distance noticably increased. Saw one person switching tires on the side of the road at one point.
Denver traffic is insane. I used to have a friend who lived down that way and I hated driving through the city on the highway. Even at 11 PM on a weekday (when I'd choose to arrive in order to avoid traffic) there were still cars in all lanes and some people weaving in and out through the traffic because they were that impatient.
I just spun out in north Denver this AM and there was barely any snow - very deceiving! Luckily I didn’t hit anyone or anything cause it was early AM but still very scary
I did it 2 days ago, exactly as described in the video. Forced onto the side of the road by a plow on a death curve. Corrected instantly and slowed down. Saved us and our vehicle.
Learning how to drift actually helps, specially in Canada!
5 лет назад
Ice has no friction coefficient unlike asphalt so think again!! Drifting!! That's funny!!! One is breaking friction to slide the other is no friction to stop sliding, yeah they're one in the same!! LOLOLOL!!!!
@ they are the same, they are just caused/initiated differently and have different speed angles. Drifting skills would help when slide happens so driver knows what to do, countersteer.
My advice is to get a QUATTRO with the right winter tires and drive it with the right speed. The satisfaction is fantastic. No joke or hard feelings. Hi to all!
***** Patience is key, if you get chewed out for being late all ya gotta say is would ya rather me crash and not get there at all? If the highway is sheer ice i wouldn't go more than maybe 40 in a semi. 45 in a car.
***** Exactly picturing it in your head and going it are two completely different things. Just continue to be safe out there when there's ice even if you're havin a bad day.
When my Dad said "Steer into the skid" and tried to explain it after my crash on a wet road, I didn't understand it at all. But with the pictures, advice, and examples, I know what it means now. Thanks for this.
Of course it did. Figure that the plan for the light pole being in that exact location, where a slide is very likely to happen, was drawn up intentionally with the knowledge that that pole would be hit frequently and need replacing frequently, thus affording a work crew good-paying winter work when there's otherwise nothing going on.
Yes, this was a helpful video. As my parents put it 40 years ago when I was learning to drive, if the car hydroplanes or slides on ice, immediately take your foot off the gas, do not brake, and turn into the slide. Obviously it's unsettling to feel the car start to "float" while driving, but if you keep your cool - and you're not driving too fast - you can manoeuver through it.
They should make the slippery road course mandatory everywhere where it snows as it is in most of Northern Europe, because no matter how much theory you listen, you will probably still panic when the car starts sliding under you for the first time. My father let me drive on frozen lakes already when i was 10 years old, so winter has always been fun drift season for me
Yeah, icy parking lots can be a fun way to see how your particular vehicle will act in ice, but it's best if it is one without a lot of curbs or light poles. :) Ice is not fun on motorcycles though... Been there, done that, didn't even get out of the parking lot before it slid out from underneath me... :(
Great video. While not braking is important, it's also important to ease off the gas and not lift suddenly. Suddenly lifting off the gas causes a forward weight transfer. Forward weight transfer means more weight (and thus traction) on the front wheels and less on the rear... NOT what you want to happen when you're already in an oversteer situation. Excellent point about coming off ice and onto dry or salted pavement. That sudden change of friction can make it difficult for even an experienced driver to recover from a slide, as the car can react violently when the tires suddenly gain traction mid-correction. Performance driving school is expensive, but go anyway! Practicing slide recovery in a controlled setting could save your life someday.
My first snowfall without winter tires was terrifying I was an anxious mess and that was 2 weeks ago. A neighbor had to address me today for ripping around the crescent fast while he was walking up the crescent with his dog late night. He said I was driving like a maniac telling me about the icy conditions. I'm worried about it I want to be a respectable safe driver not some aloof reckless young driver, I need to fix my bad habits and formally apologize to said neighbor I feel really bad for having him worry for his own safety and my wellbeing it had me so upset afterwards. My commute isnt all that I'll have to be better when I commute longer distances we only get so many driving mishaps.
@@andrewmarcus8272 you havant failed,you just ended your darkness,by learning and understanding,people watching this video are at least on the right track
Do you ever leave Florida lol . Northern Fl can get some ice during the winter not often but it happens. An Ty is correct the same driving skills apply to rain and hydroplaning .
What I've experienced living in an area with a lot of rain and snow is this: The most uncertain grip conditions are right around freezing point when the road is wet but some patches of ice can appear, or when the road seems dry but it's cold enough for black ice to be present. Your appropriate speed is the amount of steering angle your car will tolerate before beginning to slide. In corners, find that limit and don't exceed it, your speed varies accordingly; in a straight line, turn from left to right while gradually gaining speed: as soon as that movement becomes uncomfortable, you know you've reached the limits of straight line grip. Roads that are covered in snow are easy to read thanks to the grip levels being roughly consistent. Smooth ice is impossible to drive on unless you have studded tires
Growing up in a small town in rural northern Ontario, I knew this practically out of the womb but this is a GREAT video for those who aren't used to this kind of thing. Very informative and well put together.
I drive the 401 daily to get to work. it is so scary watching people drive down the high way in the middle of a snow storm. People will fly in excess of 100km/hr in a dodge charger and think themselves invincible. I drive a pick-up, with 4x4 and snow tires and I barely go in excess of 70km/hr. I grew up driving nothing but RWD vehicles with no safety assists from traction control and abs... Its absolutely astonishing how de-sensitized south western ontarians are to snow/ice.
If you have a snus in your lip and drive a volvo (RWD) you instantly gain a buff to your stats that resist crashing and or loss of controll on your vehicle. Additionally you gain the title of Northern Touge King, effects may dissapear after both snow and ice is no longer noticable on roads.
Years of sim racing on ice, snow and water has literally save me and my wife’s life. Before moving to the USA I barely had any real life snow and ice driving experience.
"turn into the slide" is the phrase that has caused the most confusion. Most people don't realize that the back of the car is the one sliding. All they see is that they're turning left (fishtailing right) and they think they are supposed to turn left as well.
That's the main reason why I clicked on this video; I never really knew what "turn into the slide" meant. We should change it to "turn in the same direction the tail end is moving."
Or "turn to the direction the tail end is NOT supposed to be moving" in the case of a "understeer" slide. But the direction to turn the wheel to should be instinctively correct, anyway.
Exactly! I have always been confused by 'Turn into the slide', but this has explained it perfectly......watching this video the day I have bought my first RWD car......
Best description of over- and under-steer I've seen, and best advice on correcting a slide. Superimposing the steering wheel on the video makes "steering into the slide" so much easier to understand. Well done!
What a helpful video! This is the first winter I had to drive (with my children in the car), and it's been super stressful. This video really helped me to understand some things because he shows many examples, and I can visually understand it in my mind. Hope this video helps many more!
People need to stop driving like they got a deathwish, they get on the freeway & think that they're in the Indy 500. I made it home, but I lost count of how many car crashes I passed on the freeway tonight. I grew up in the ice & snow, drove in it for 12 years, at times tonight I was going 20 mph. This is so damn sad. Condolences to all of the loved ones, & RIP to all who lost their live
I've driven through northern Texas quite a few times and it would either be late at night or early morning and yes, texas is prone to ice still. Especially when you get around them cattle farms haha
Practice, practice, practice. Find a large icy parking lot. I was lucky enough to have an unused airfield. P.S. Be careful with SUVs which can flip quite easily.
@Martin Smith That's how I did it. My father taught me how to avoid and correct a skid then I practiced in a big empty parking lot until I did the right things instinctively.
As a lifelong winter driver of Northern Minnesota and Alaska, I will say this video is a good one to use for training. I've had close calls but *knock on wood* have never been in an accident during the winter months. The key to a slide is never use the brakes. Downshifting one gear is what worked for me as I drive stick shifts.
it's sad that manual transmissions are getting harder to find these days and soon they will all be gone. The biggest reason I drive a manual is because of the extra control you have with them in the snow.
Yeah , you say sense . Even me never got stranded in snow, nor never hit the road curbside because of downshifting gear to L2 , L3 , sometimes to L1 and it works perfectly for me .
Unfortunately CVTs are one speed. And they are putting CVTs in the majority of cars nowadays. Many don't even have a 2nd. gear setting, and most don't have lo. It's like driving my lawnmower. Just push the pedal and go! Going down a steep hill? Tap the brake to slow down.
I got in my first slide taking a left turn at an intersection some weeks ago. I was able to safely and successfully counter the oversteer and end the slide. Honestly, I gotta give that one to playing driving games. Knowing how to correct for oversteer in a video game prepared me to know what to do in a real-life situation.
I mean, I think you live in mid to southern AZ (Phoenix and south of) because the northern parts do get snow. There are even places in AZ that see snow every year, even several feet of it! But tbh, I thought the same thing as your comment until I looked it up lol.
Not only do I not hit my brakes when sliding, I always make sure to take my foot off the gas. I allow the weight of the car to slow me as I steer into the slide. Another little tip if having trouble with an icy road, look for packed snow to drive through; your tires will gain more traction. Great video, +1
Thanks.. I was looking for a comment like this... Soon as rear starts sliding, feet off the brake and accelerator and just use the steering until cars under control before using the accelerator again, right?
@@gurinderpalsingh319 Eh, I definitely don't do this. FWD car and I try to give the front wheels a tiny bit of gas along with the countersteering to match the groundspeed below them. Helps engage traction and pull the front around instead of just being skates.
@@gurinderpalsingh319 Actually, you want to blip the throttle if possible, so that the weight of the car shifts to the rear. Coming off the gas has the same effect as braking, which is to shift the weight to the front, decreasing the amount of grip that the rear tyres have.
@@wam-wildlifeandmore1141 With a fwd car yes. RWD ur just making it worse... unless you wan't to initiate oversteer... for whatever reason that would be ehem. (Drifting)
Thanks for this. I just got into a wreck when sliding and over correcting. I'm still trying to get my driving confidence back and this is really helpful information
Happens to a lot of people. Just months after getting my license, I was doing 20 mph down a steep hill and lost traction. It was a super tiny road so nothing I could do would correct a slide without landing in a ditch and twisting around trees. Luckily all I did was spin twice and slide in a ditch after the trees.
Just had a high speed slide today, going 100km/h (60mph). I corrected the slide correctly, and avoided the accident. We don't have icy roads very often where I live. Somehow it just came naturally to me. I sure am happy I played a lot of Need for speed 😄
I actually gained a lot of my driving skill from playing racing games like gran turismo. It creates mucle memory that you would not get if you dont encouter the driving conditions in real life.
My brain shows me a calculated third person view of my car when I slide. I played lots of different driving games, but mostly GTA V. Thanks to games, I can visualize myself in third person and it's very helpful.
I’m 56 and missed out on the gaming era . I might need to ask my kids to hook me up. I am new to winter weather conditions and super paranoid. Some practice would definitely help. I would love for it to be instinctive . Right now I think my automatic reflexes would cause me to do the opposite of what’s required 😕
I just want to say thank you for keeping to the facts and showing useful examples in this video. I just moved up to Boston from Atlanta for a job, and when I got here, one of the first things I asked my coworkers was how to drive on icy roads. I work with a bunch of jokesters who thought it would be funny to tell me super incorrect and dangerous information, like "slam on your brakes as hard as you can" and "jerk your wheel in the opposite direction as soon as you start sliding" and if they hadn't seen that I was taken them seriously and mentally taking down notes, I would have followed their advice and probably gotten in a wreck.
@@theskyizblue2day431 Hah, I know! They're lovely guys and I don't hold it against them other than being a little miffed in the moment. But now I've gotten used to it and can decode when people are being sarcastic a lot better now (usually...)
@@aligned4good Yeah, I definitely gave them a good talking to about "Hey, when I ask for advice about how to be safe in certain conditions, I really mean it. I know it's common knowledge to guys, but I've never really dealt with it before." They seemed to understand, and we didn't have many more things like that, thankfully. They're good guys, it's just that, to them, I was asking an obvious question like "how do I turn my car on?" Or something like that.
I watched this video years ago and practiced a little in an empty lot when I lived a place with snow and ice for ~2 years. Today it saved me totaling my car. Applied too much power in a turn, lost back traction due to water on the road. Corrected it smoothly, and safely.
"Under 45 you will avoid a slide in the first place" I've spun out going 5 mph. With bad enough ice/traction it can happen at any speed, but it's far more dangerous at high speeds. Thanks for sharing though. It can be scary and the opposite of instinct to hit the gas and not brake when losing control of your car
Black ice is not the same as normal icy/slippery roads. The advice still stands that you should go well under the speed limit. 30 Mph in a 60 zone for example. If the roads are so bad that you spin out at 5 mph, then you'll at least have only crashed going 5 mph.
He is right about the speed. But I'd suggest you to learn from a real professional instructor then learning some of the wrong techniques explained in this video.
Thanks, we haven’t really covered this in drivers ed. a few years ago, I was coming home from work on a snowy/icy night (I worked nights) and boss wouldn’t let us leave early because it was a Friday. I nearly ended up in a ditch going downhill on a 50 mph road with turns and twists. Somehow my car wasn’t even out of alignment or damaged but I did manage to miss a pole by maybe 6-9 inches. You are 100 percent correct when you say it’s a heart stopping feeling 😅
Step 1 - Know your vehicle. Step 2 - Refer to Step 1. Step 3 - If Step 1 and Step 2 are beyond your comprehension, stay off the roads in any condition.
It's weird I've been in situations like this and other situations where someone else would have caused an accident or possibly took my life and basically just react without even thinking it happens that fast. But I truly appreciate you taking the time to put this video out there and you did a good job on doing so. Wishing you and your family a safe and happy holidays.
The first snow day off from school after I got my drivers license was spent in an empty wide open parking lot at wolf trap farm park, learning how to pump brakes, use the e brake, regain control and straighten out from a fishtail. Then me and my friends did donuts and wide spins at faster and faster speeds to see how many times we could get our cars to spin completely around before running out of parking lot. After that, I always had a good "feel" for maintaining control of my car on wet, icy or snow covered roads. Often when your car starts to lose traction or fishtail the best course of action is to take your foot off the gas but do not brake, and even letting go of the wheel for a second to let physics take over will straighten things out. Most people over correct or hit their brakes, which causes the tires to lose all contact grip with the road, and total loss of control. Be gentle.
When i was young, my older brother used to take me out to a parking lot in snow and we'd do donuts and slides on purpose. Not only was it fun and some of my best memories laughing my butt off but it took the fear out of winter driving because i learned to automatically correct and make it instinct. If everyone had a brother like mine, we'd all be safer on the roads. I trust my driving but i dont trust the inexperience of others around me who cause the collisions
Initially taking the hands of the wheel and letting the car do its thing is key, as long as you're off the gas and brake. For work I drive a mail truck, rear wheel drive, no weight, and I live in Colorado. I always swing the back end around in the road when turning around, letting the vehicle adjust itself at the end. (No cars or people around, of course)
As a Canadian who drives a lot in icy conditions I can say this is sound advice but I would strongly recommend slowing down to about 50kmp or ~30mph and you'll very seldom slide out and if you do you'll have a lot more time to react properly.
I use to live in canada. I'm from Alberta. One winter, roads were so slippery that you couldn't even walk without slipping. It took me about 5mins to get up to 100kph/60mph i and i would drift every bend in the road.
I live in BC, so I do a lot of snowy mountain highway driving. Another thing, don't suddenly lift off your throttle. That is the same as hitting your brakes. Back off to 3/4 of the throttle you had at most, 7/8th would be better. Then steer as you need to to get out of the slide. Going around a corner and it becomes really slippery, 7/8 throttle, no sudden movements on the steering wheel, throttle or breaks. Hold your entry line all the way through until you are going straight again. Feel free to slow down and stop on the side of the road to take a breath.
Thank you and God bless you for this. I may be driving for the first time in my life in snow and I’m getting scared. Thank you for taking your time to show and explain all of this. This could be life saving
When I was fifteen, I was learning how to drive on rainy conditions with my grandfather and the car slid, it was a 90 degree frozen turn and I managed to keep the car stable without even realizing that it slid... My grandfather was surprised because it was only the second time I was driving. I'm pretty sure this reflex came from video games which I used to play a lot (GTA and NFS). And when my dad gave me my own car I learned how to drift in empty parking lots so I can have a better control on cars, I really advise all new drivers to learn how to drift in empty spaces because if drifting is used correctly in can prevent more crashes than we think.
Completely agree with you. People should get to know how their car behaves in certain situations. Though I can't get my car to slide at all even though it's a V12 Mercedes from 1995. ASR immediately drops the power from rear wheels after noticing spinning thus preventing any actual sliding. ASR can also be disabled if you want to have fun. :]
Yep, NFS Most Wanted was the first place where I experienced over/understeering without realizing it. But I adapted to it when I used to game a lot and yesterday I had to put this knowledge into real-life practice and it was as if it was an instinct... And with happy end :D
Buy proper snow tires. Get out in a parking lot and play around. Stop being scared. Sliding is just part of driving on slick stuff and isn't difficult to deal with at all. You just have to practice it.
these guys are right, you need to practice because you just experienced some sort of mini "trauma". reenacting and gaining confidence will make you not feel so anymore. good luck
I'm glad I found your channel. I wish I could have a discussion about this with a few of my loved ones that are, "crusin' for a bruisin'" as we used to say. But some people will always drive the same on dry roads as they do on wet or snowy roads. I'm hoping my newly licensed teenage son will watch and learn the principles you demonstrate here. This will be his first winter on snowy roads without an adult in the car. I appreciate that you took the time to take to make this. I learned a lot.
So well explained and simple to understand, thank you. Drove 3 hours through the snowy mountains today and was going a bit too fast around a turn and lost it. Overcorreccted a bit, then far too much, hit the snowpack enclosing the highway And ended up facing the wrong way. No real damage and no other vehicles around luckily. I was not speeding but was definitely going too fast, gonna go slow and easy next time. At least that way if I do end up sliding it will not be as difficult to correct.
I've been doing the wrong thing and getting very lucky. I spun completely out last night going about 30 mph when I hit some ice. I turned against the skid and lightly pumped my brakes and ended-up going across the road backwards, only stopping when I eventually slid into the curb. I was fortunate in that no one else was on the street so there was nothing to crash into.
The same thing that happened to the driver in Charleston West Virginia, happened to me just yesterday in the rain, except I was surrounded by traffic and managed to straighten it out and pull out of it after overcorrecting twice, keeping it within one-and-a-half Lanes while fishtailing, and luckily the drivers around me gave me room and i didn't Crash, or cause anyone else to lose control.
The majority of fatal accidents in the US occur in a corridor from the Midwest to the South where there are only a handful of icy road days per year (including everywhere the videos on this channel were shot). It simply doesn't snow enough nor does it stay cold enough in these locations to make winter tires a practical investment, so people do not use them. Many tire shops in these regions don't even carry them in stock because of the nonexistent demand. Winter tires make sense in the northern tier US states, Canada, Russia, Sweden, etc where roads are snow and ice covered much more frequently. Even with winter tires, it is common for drivers to place too much confidence in them at higher speeds, and accidents still occur. Since winter tires are a common response to all of the videos on this channel, I'm in the process of a detailed video about them that should be published sometime this fall.
sekopiski You can still slide plenty on a sheet of ice with winter tires... They do better in snow, but not really that much better on ice... My all season tires are pretty similar in performance UNTIL deeper snow is on the ground, then they weave around because they are really wide
Winter tires are so much more efficient below 10°C/50°F even in a cold fall day because they are softer. Also in the summer good for burnouts fun (for the same scientific reason) :P How much does it cost 4 spear rims + 4 winter tires and change them twice in a year (45 minutes w/ coffee...online shopping networks...)? Or maybe it's cheaper to panic and eventually service your car, make public damage or even fatal crushes to other people or yourself? You decide :D
Awesome video. Love the well-balanced mix between theory and practice. I personally managed to correct one instinctively once (aqua planning + probably some gas on the road), but the second one proved to be less of a success. 2 totaled car on a rainy day, but more fear than damage for the bodies... turned out that road had another accident in the same spot a few hours earlier, and many before that. Accidents mark the spirit, I have lost some confidence in myself, especially driving when it's raining... made me more cautious which is good but also too cautious sometimes. Drive safe! And beware of tiredness. Worst enemy of all.
Here in NC it is the apocalypse once a single snowflake hits the ground. Anarchy. Cars crashing. Cats and dogs living together, horses eating each other.
As a Canadian living in one of the regions with the wildest weather, here are a few things, in order of importance: 1. Snow/Winter tires. NOT all-seasons. This is non-negotiable. When the temperature drops below 7°C, it's time for winter tires. Yes it's an extra set of wheels/tires to buy, yes you need the storage space, and yes you need to change them twice every year, but I would rather deal with all that than to gamble with my safety/life, and from experience they've been worth it every time. 2. Use slow and gradual inputs for steering, acceleration, and braking. This way you run less risk of losing traction. 3. Follow the flow of traffic, and err on the slow side. Despite what youtube comments will tell you, being the only driver on the road going way too slow poses a greater safety risk than going at speed or near. If everyone is driving 80-100 and you're driving 40-50, everyone has to change lanes and avoid you. If you really NEED to drive slowly, put your hazards on so you're more visible and people can go around you. 4. Know your car. Front-wheel drive, rear-wheen drive, all-wheel drive, front engine, mid engine, etc. These things affect how you lose traction, how the car reacts to slides, how YOU should react, and how the car will REGAIN traction. 5. All-wheel drive will not help you when you lose traction. It only helps to keep traction but once you slide you might as well not have any wheels at all. 6. Heavier vehicles (trucks and SUVs mainly) need more braking distance. They may be good for not getting stuck in parking spots/heavy snow but on the road they make it harder to brake and react quickly. 7. If you slide, don't brake and don't accelerate, use gentle inputs. On most vehicles (front wheel drive) the front wheels have to pull double duty of both steering and providing power to the wheels, so don't make them do three things at once. 8. Ice and snow are two different beasts. In heavy snow, depending on the speed, if your car DOESN'T have ABS (before 2013) it can actually be better to slam on the brakes. The locked wheels will compact the heavy snow in front of the wheels, dampening them and helping you slow down. On ice, once you have lost traction you have to either try to regain traction first so you can steer, or brace for impact. The vehicles I see the most sliding and crashing and ending up in the ditch are SUVs with all-season/weather tires and all-wheel drive (AWD). Weirdly enough, I find it's mostly newer vehicles too (with ABS, traction control, lane keep assist, etc.).
I'm actually on a ski trip in Montana right now and the 2WD (little) vehicle I have tend to skid a little bit on the icy road. I'm planning on changing it for a Subaru outback AWD today... Are you telling me that it won't help? In Colorado, they normally put chains around the tires this period but I don't see them doing that out here so... Please reply ASAP
#8 was fun to learn, I had a 1990 Toyota corolla essentially and I live on a mountain with steep hills. No Abs. No TCS. Manual trans. But it's not a 4wd with a low ratio transfer case so engine braking only did so much. I ended up intentionally locking the brakes up a few times to build up snow to keep me from sliding into the banks on the way down. As you said though, summer tires suck during snow and ice. It rarely snows here and we got around a foot of snow that year. When I got to the bottom I knew I wouldn't make it back up. Ended up leaving my car at work until it thawed and riding with someone who had a 4wd.
@@davidn.2555 He's certainly not wrong that once you've started to slide, having AWD isn't going to help one bit. I've had vehicles with true 4WD (which is different, just FYI), AWD, RWD, and FWD, and ice can humble any of them. Likewise, if you know how to handle your FWD vehicle (and have snow tires or even chains if you need them in your area), you'll be better off than 90% of the other yuppies in AWD Suburbans and Outbacks out there who still end up in the ditch due to lack of experience/forethought and simply being in a hurry. So takeaways: invest in some snow tires rather than a new car, and find a big, open parking lot to practice managing slides you initiate the next time it gets snowy/icy. Those two things paired with just slowing down a little will serve you much better than a new Subaru.
What I miss in this video are two very important things. Use winter tires when there is risk for ice or snow, and always have the best tires at the rear wheels to minimize the risk of oversteering.
Guess you are not a winter driver. Tires are the absolut key to be able to drive safe during winter with snowy and icy roads. A car with the best tires to the back understeer often instead of oversteer. Understeering is less dangerous and it´s not as easy to loose control and spin around.
No, best tires in the front to minimize understeer. You can fix oversteer, you cant fix understeer unless you slow down, which is hard to do with no traction.
Last I heard, the experts were not in agreement of wether best tyres in front or in back is the best. And I dunno how it is in the states, but where I am from, you're not allowed to drive in these conditions with summer tyres.
I appreciate how you went in depth, using many real life examples, as to WHY these are best recommended icy road driving considerations and strategies. I think so many people just get told rules and techniques of the road and don’t take them seriously because they don’t understand exactly HOW it makes them safer.
Anyone that's still uncomfortable driving in this type of weather I recommend finding a safe area to practice at low speeds correcting over/understeer in this weather. Obviously be safe and responsible but practicing and building the muscle memory for the correction is valuable when making that split second decision of what to do.
That's exactly what I am gonna do. I drive an Alfa Romeo 156 1.8 16v twin spark. My tires are good but still my tires can't get immediately grip by starting to drive on wet surfaces. It's even worse when I try to do it as slow as possible. Giving gas seems to give them grip. Also on a roundabout my wheels will slide, both under- and oversteer. It's not the speed... So... My uncle was a driver instructor and examinator and also has given slip lessons. He's now retired but when it's a rainy day he will help me to control my car. I already knew that with driving a trailer that starts to swing behind your car, you don't touch the brakes, like most ppl think but instead of that you give extra gas...
Going to work just isn’t that important I have decided. They can come pick me up if it’s really that important to them. Just absurd that i ever acted like going to work was somehow more responsible than not putting myself and others at risk.
thank you for this video it saved me yesterday, was about to spin out i was 90° turned left doing only 55km/hr in a 90 zone, remembered your words and was able to safely correct it and get home safe so thank you 10000000x for this. GO SLOW is the lesson i learned even if it means you must do 30 in a 90 with your 4 ways on snow and ice are dangerous even with winter tires. DRIVE SAFE YALL
Thank you for clarifying that you're supposed to turn into the slide based on which direction the REAR of your car is turning. I remember so much from my written exam as a teen, and one thing I remember is that (at least where I'm from and when I took it years ago) they don't clarify that your turn is based on the REAR end of your vehicle!
The best tip is to drive slow in these conditions. Like someone else mentioned, even if they honk at you, you keep driving at the safest speed possible. I live in upstate NY and it's crazy the amount of accidents you see on the highway just because someone was overly confident thinking they could beat the road conditions. If you want to put your life at risk, that's on you - just don't take me with you!
For FWD cars absolutely. Counter steer and apply throttle to "pull" the car out of the slide. For RWD cars ease out of the throttle so it doesn't snap the other way adding power will only make it worse.
You saved my life! A week ago i was watching this video and in the last days i have a situation to put it in test, not in snow, but instead, a long carpet of SAND in a small out on a highway, im from argentina, and here the highways doesnt have any kind of wall or contain like in the US, you just got out and roll over, and i lose the control like in this video and i made out safely! I think it was a construction truck that crashed and trow sand all over the asphalt, anyway, you saved my life! Thank you a lot!
I grew up living at the top of a mountain in the Poconos and once I had the basics of driving down, my dad took me out in the snow and told me I had to get down the mountain if I was going to drive. So I learned fast. And I was a snowboard instructor so I had to drive to work in the snow A LOT. Luckily I've been able to deal with the conditions, but the scariest was an understeering issue, going down a steep hill at about 15 mph, tires turned to make a curve and car kept going straight. What's the best way to handle that? I'll look for a video.. Thank you for this refresher! I'll def make my daughter watch this in a few years when it's her turn.
I was riding a car once that started malfunctioning past 160km/h when passing lanes, it started jumping around on the suspension... with every oscillating jump I could feel the car was losing grip with the road and the rear was trying to swing... I saved the car, but the feeling afterwards is indescribable... never again... Me and my girl were quiet for at least 15 min, in total shock... We figured out later the previous owner cut the suspension-springs with heat to lower it...
On ice; you have no traction. You only have a trajectory. Line up your vector before you hit the ice. Cross over the ice with as close to zero control input as you can manage; including turning, accelerating and decelerating. If you do slide; keep the front wheels pointing in your intended direction. You have a good chance of reaching the other end safely.
was going downhill straight icy road 10mph. at. one point front of car started sliding left towards rails. i very slowly turned the steering wheel right. it briefly caught traction before i hit the rail so i didn't crush. did i do well or was i lucky?
I think you mean keep the wheels pointed in the direction that you’re actually going. That’s where a lot of people mess up by pointing the wheels where they want to go/intend to, instead of pointing the wheels towards what you’re sliding into
@@Redneckeverything In such conditions it's all about the tires. You can bet they aren't driving on American all season tires! In the US, for whatever reason (often economical) the majority of drivers, even in northern regions, insist on driving on all season tires year around. If you walk around the parking lot at the local shopping center where I live near the Canadian border in the winter, it is very predictable, newer cars (especially AWD) will have winter tires installed, but almost without fail older cars will have the same all season tires they have had on all year. Folks just can't afford two sets of tires, plus the expense of having them installed and removed every year (over 100.00 dollars). Which brings up the point, just because you have the latest and greatest AWD with top of the line winter tires, when you are out on the road in nasty conditions, you have to realize that everyone out there isn't as fortunate. Have a little patience and understanding.
I was in the unfortunate predicament of having to drive my friend's two-wheel drive up a steep icy hill because she was out of town. I've never been so scared to drive in my life. The car was constantly swerving and I almost drove off the road. Sometimes I felt like I was driving the car forwards while the wheels were sideways. Luckily I made it up without accidents, but this video would really have come in handy.
One thing I’d like to mention. If I’m driving slower than the posted max. speed limit, whether it be icy or other weather conditions, i always put my emergency blinker lights on so people coming up from behind knows what to expect and can change lanes ahead of time rather then getting up to right behind me and then swings into the next lane.
This is very helpful. My driver’s ed instructor only verbally explained this, I couldn’t envision it and they over complicated it. I wish they would’ve shown this video.
@@crisbowman not really. Most, if not, all vehicles have a handy sticker in the door jam that'll tell you the exact pressure your tires should have for cold conditions. In every vehicle I've seen 20 - 30% less is about right
I am watching this video after a slide which I successfully managed. To be honest, I was lucky. This is a really informative video. Now onwards, I will drive the car with extra care above a bridge. I forwarded this to my friends immediately after watching this. Thanks Dan for such an excellent video.
Believe it or not I knew how to correct a slide from playing so many video games when I was young. I’m from Boston so of course I’ve had to drive in snow and ice. You would never think video game playing would translate to real life driving but it does...can’t really explain it.
Driving games give a no risk demonstration of the physics involved it won't 100% translate but it can condition you to it and makes learning/applying the theory a lot easier
Helpful! I've only gotten into one true slide. I wasn't going very fast and didn't even know it was icy until I gently applied the brakes which started the slide. The only thing that came to mind was "keep tires facing forward", but I ended up either overcorrecting or repeatedly correcting too late because the fishtail worsened significantly and then I spun out. Wish we practiced this in driving school, I'm shocked we don't.
Simple thing. Find empty parking lot covered in snow and do some practice! You will see how quick u can learn to control the car in slide. Its not hard and its safe on open area without traffic. Only hour of PRACTICE can SAFE your or others LIFE ! Be safe out there. bye
I do this every winter. It’s a lot of fun. I tell people to do that and they think I’m crazy. Last time I did it in a parking lot with a cop there and he only said do whatever you like just don’t hit my car. lol
I always knew about never hitting the brakes in a slippery situation but never got educated till now on what to do with the steering once starting to slide- Thanks💙😊
