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.)
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 tryins 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
is
best handled
by
easing your foot
off
the accelerator pedal.
If
you
have the traction control system, remember: It
helps avoid only the acceleration skid.
4-14
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