How to Stay Safe During a Car Emergency

Losing control of your car is frightening and our minds tend to blank out during times of crises. This is extremely dangerous for you and people around you. The key is to not panic. Stay in control and remain calm! Here are some tips from Carro in the case of a car emergency.

1. Skidding

Skidding or drifting would look cool if you are under control. Unfortunately, the chances of you being in control is minimal

Front wheel skids

Ensure that your steering wheel is parallel to your car body as much as possible

This will allow you` to regain some form of control over time. Do not attempt to regain control by steering to the extreme opposite side. This will cause you to skid more than before

Back wheel skids

Prevention for such skids is crucial and everyone, even the most experienced driver is not immune to this. How to know that your car is about to experience a back wheel skid? Your car will not respond well to the way you want it to. In a case where you experience a back wheel skid, the first thing you should do is to counter steer your car. Steer your car in the opposite direction from which your car is heading. As always, remember to stay calm.

3. Off-road driving

Off-road driving (again) looks fun, but not if your car is not capable of driving off road. Often in a long and mundane drive, your hand may suddenly jerk which cause your car to go off road. Do not panic, also do not head back to the road immediately. It is dangerous for other cars if your car enters the road suddenly. This may shock the other drivers and cause them to panic as well, resulting in more accidents as they may suddenly swerve off road. Hence, keep your heads up, slow down to about 50 km/h and start to accelerate again to enter the road.

4. Emergency braking

Emergency braking would take place when you are trying to avoid a potential accident such as banging the car in front of you. Most of the time, people are unable to execute emergency braking in time. There are two ways to execute emergency braking and it depends on whether your car has the antilock braking system (ABS).

Without Antilock Braking System (ABS)

Gradually apply pressure on your brake, do not use brute force. Brute force would only cause your car to lose traction on the road and cause your car to skid. Skidding while trying to execute an emergency brake will not only cause you to lose control of your car, but it will also cause your car to continue moving at the speed that it was traveling at. ABS is often found in newer models of cars but often not available in lower-priced cars. Understand the mechanisms of your car and be safe. Slowly step on the brake, and try to keep your steering wheel straight or with a bit of rotation in order to brake in time. Stay calm without swerving your car in order to avoid skidding dangerously.

With ABS

Lucky you, a car with ABS will be able to be brake without skidding even when you suddenly step on the brake with brute force. You are most likely able to brake in time elegantly. However, you still have to keep your steering wheel straight and maintain the control over your car.

All in all, keep your heads up, your eyes straight, and control your steering wheel. Never take the risk by pretending to be a stunt driver. It will not only cost you your life, but others’ too. Be safe, drive safe.

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© Carrosg