0
Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder and
start your left lane change signal before moving out
of the right lane to pass. When you are far enough
ahead
of
the passed vehicle to see its front in your
inside mirror, activate your right lane change signal
and move back
into
the right lane. (Remember that
your right outside mirror
is
convex. The vehicle you
just passed may seem
to
be farther away from
you
than
it
really
is.)
0
Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time
on
two-lane roads. Reconsider before passing the
next vehicle.
Don’t overtake a slowly moving vehicle
too
rapidly.
Even though the brake lamps are not flashing,
it
may
be slowing down or starting to turn.
If you’re being passed, make
it
easy
for
the
following driver to get ahead of
you.
Perhaps you
can ease a little
to
the right.
Loss
of
Control
Let’s review what driving experts say about what happens
when the three control systems (brakes, steering and
acceleration) don’t have enough friction where the tires
meet the road to do what
the
driver has asked.
In
any emergency, don’t give up. Keep trying
to
steer and
constantly seek an escape route or area
of
less danger.
Skidding
In
a skid,
a
driver can lose control of the vehicle.
Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonable
care suited to existing conditions, and by not “overdriving”
those conditions. But skids
are
always possible.
The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’s
three control systems. In the braking skid, your wheels
aren’t rolling.
In
the steering or cornering skid, too
much speed or steering
in
a
curve causes tires
to
slip and
lose cornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too
much throttle causes the driving wheels to spin.
A
cornering skid and an acceleration skid are best
handled by easing your foot off the accelerator pedal.
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