Watch the ice!
09 January 2003: As hundreds of inexperienced young drivers around the country encounter snow and ice on the roads for the first time, driving experts RAC School of Motoring are recommending them to modify their driving techniques to avoid becoming an accident statistic.
"The combination of darker conditions and treacherous surfaces - especially on ungritted minor roads - creates a double jeopardy for young drivers with only a few months experience under their belt", says RAC managing director Robert Taylor.
"Even driving in heavy rain won't have prepared them for icy roads where stopping distances can increase by as much as ten-fold."
RAC School of Motoring advice to avoid skidding in icy conditions is:
* Maintain a far lighter touch on all controls: the lighter the touch, the less likely you are to skid
* Watch well ahead of you and try to anticipate what is likely to happen: that way your braking can be earlier and lighter
* Don't use gears as a brake: that increases the chances of skidding
* When moving off from a standstill, use the highest possible gear - otherwise you risk wheel-spin
* If your car is a modern automatic model, it may have skid control fitted - use it!
* Anti-locking brakes don't mean that you can risk driving fast
If your car does start to skid, RAC School of Motoring's expert advice is to remove the cause by taking your foot off the brake or the accelerator and then steer in the direction of the skid - if your car is skidding to the left, for instance, turn your steering wheel to the left.
But make sure you don't overdo the correction, as that itself may cause you to start skidding in the opposite direction.