Driving in winter is NOT a fun thing to do, as many of you will attest to. One danger is skidding. You may be driving at a reasonable speed and being as careful as you can be, but a stray patch of ice just might throw you out of control. YOU may know how to control a skid, but do your (driving) family members know how to handle it? Here is some information that you can share with them, especially your teenagers.
What do you do when the rear wheels lose traction?
First, keep your eyes on the road. Don’t panic and look elsewhere, and continue to take the direction you were originally taking. Remember to turn the wheel towards the path that you want to go.
Second, do NOT hit the brakes! This is probably going to be the initial reaction of an inexperienced driver, but train yourself not to do it. Hitting the brakes will only make you lose control of the car more.
Third and last, do not stop steering in the direction you need to go. This will help avoid the rear wheels skidding in the other direction.
Now what if the front wheels skid?
You basically have to maintain the same presence of mind as well as follow the steps above. The important thing to remember is that you wait for the wheels to regain their grip on the road and not to brake or accelerate while doing so. Bottom line: be in control of yourself and the situation.
An overheating engine can be caused by many factors but is mostly concerned with the engine’s cooling system that begins with the radiator, the hoses, water pump, the drive belts and the blowers or fans that cools the radiator. There are also varying methods to deal with such problems and here are some tips that you can add to your bag of tricks when your car does suffer from and overheat.
First, if you are driving and the temperature gauge begins to rise out of the normal, turn off the air conditioning to lower the strain on the engine and see if that remedies the problem. Get to a gas station to have it checked for it might be a sure sign of a deeper problem with respect to the engine’s cooling system. Driving on a blistering hot day in traffic with the air conditioner should not cause any concern for newer cars which still have new components but for older cars, that might be too much for the old-clunker to handle.
If that does not lower the temperature of the engine, drive to the nearest gas station for assistance. With some luck, they might have a mechanic on duty that can easily get you back on the road. If you just happen to have a back-up supply of water in the trunk, drive to the side of the road so you can safely diagnose the problem but “DO NOT TURN OFF THE ENGINE” if you intend to add water to the radiator. Any radiator fluid or water dripping from the hoses, engine or from any part of the cooling system can be a sure sign of a hose break or a leak in the many rubber plugs that covers unused hose ports on the engine.
