Miscellaneous Car Tire Slips to Watch Out for
Tire slippage is one of the most frequent causes of accidents. Therefore, drivers must know everything about tire slippage so they can anticipate it.
A tire is said to experience slipping when it loses traction on the road surface. This condition resulted in the driver losing control of the vehicle. This is what can ultimately be dangerous because the car is driving out of control.
Slippage occurs most easily on slippery road conditions. Not surprisingly, in the rainy season, slippage occurs more often. At that time, the presence of water on the road surface reduced the traction of the tires. However, it's not just water, other materials that make roads slippery such as oil, gravel or sand can also trigger slippage.
Apart from road surface factors, poor car tire conditions can also trigger skidding. If the tire is thin, as indicated by the tread fading, the tire's traction will decrease. Slippage will easily occur.
Therefore, it is important to anticipate slippage to minimize the risk of accidents. Drivers need to know the various types of skids first.
BRAKING SKID
Commonly referred to as panic braking, skid braking occurs when sudden braking occurs. At that time the tires locked so they lost traction on the road surface. As a result, the driver can lose control of the vehicle. That's what can trigger an accident.
How to Anticipate:
Avoid sudden braking that is too strong. Then, even if you have to brake quickly, apply the pulse braking technique. This is a way to brake by pressing the brake pedal repeatedly.
So, if the tires are already locked, the driver doesn't need to panic. It's better to apply threshold braking. The driver reduces brake pressure and allows the car to move naturally. When it feels safe, you can press the brake again.
Activate the Anti-lock Braking System feature if the car already has it. This technology is very useful for preventing car tires from locking.
POWER SKID
Power skid occurs when the tire loses traction due to acceleration that is too great or too fast. The car finally accelerated suddenly, causing the tires to experience wheelspin.
Slippery road conditions can easily cause power skids. Likewise, if the tire tread is thin and bald.
In this situation, the tire's traction will decrease. As a result, when the wheel gets a strong and fast energy boost, the tire is prone to losing taxi. The slippage was finally experienced.
How to Anticipate:
When experiencing a power skid, drivers are expected not to panic. Don't step on the brake pedal because it's dangerous. It's better to let the car drive while trying to control the steering wheel.
Let the car regain traction. If you feel that the tires have grip on the road surface, you can press the gas or brake pedal again to control the speed of the car.
To prevent this from happening again, try not to accelerate suddenly. Increase speed periodically.
If your car has it, also activate the Traction Control feature. This will keep the car having traction at all times.
CORNERING SKID
A skid that occurs when a car loses traction when going around a corner. This condition is usually experienced when the steering wheel is turned inappropriately. This results in loss of traction on the road surface. As a result, the car skidded and the driver lost control of the vehicle.
Just like other types of skids, factors such as road surface conditions, power transferred to the wheels, speed and tire condition affect the cornering of the skid.
Cornering skids are divided into two, namely understeer and oversteer. Understeer occurs when the car is difficult to turn because it is going too fast. At that time, the front wheel traction was less than the rear.
Meanwhile, oversteer is the opposite. If you experience this, the vehicle turns excessively.
How to Anticipate:
The technique for anticipating cornering skids is similar to power skids. It is recommended to immediately remove your foot from the gas or brake pedal. Let the car drive until it regains traction. However, control the direction with the steering wheel.
When the tires have traction, immediately brake and adjust the speed as desired. The car can be driven as usual. However, to prevent this from happening, immediately reduce your speed when cornering for safety.
That's how various types of car tires slip. If you understand it, the driver can anticipate it so it doesn't happen. The key is to be more careful when driving and make sure the tires are always in good condition so they don't slip.