Jim Russell Racing Drivers School Offers Tips From the Track for Safe Winter Driving

    SONOMA, Calif.--Nov. 21, 2002--More automobile crashes occur in December than in any other month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. And while the weatherman may not always be able to predict snow or rain, one thing is certain: wet winter weather always sends drivers into a tailspin -- literally.
    The professional racing instructors at Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in Sonoma, Calif., have borrowed from competitive racing techniques to develop a five-point check list for safer driving in winter weather. When wet, snowy or icy conditions cause a car to begin skidding out of control, the following tips can help prevent an accident:

    1. Focus on where you want to go, and your hands will follow on the wheel: most people make the mistake of looking where the car is skidding, which makes them steer in that direction.

    2. Maintain your pace: keep your foot off the brake and the accelerator, and the car will slow down to the point where you can regain control.

    3. Once you've recovered from the skid, gently apply the brakes: skids turn into spin-outs when the driver applies the brakes too hard.

    4. If you're in a spin, put "two feet in": if an automatic transmission car is beyond skidding and in a complete spin-out, hitting the brakes hard will help slow down the spin and make the car move in a consistent manner, whereas pumping the brakes will cause the car to "float" in multiple directions during the spin. ("Two feet in" refers to hitting the clutch and brake simultaneously in a manual transmission car.)

    5. If you're behind someone skidding, continue driving straight forward and slow down safely: don't attempt to pass -- you'll have more options to avoid an accident if you're directly behind the skidding car, versus next to it.

    "Many techniques that are designed to keep high-speed racecar drivers safe on the track are just as valuable in everyday driving," said Mark Wolocatiuk, director of instruction at Jim Russell Racing Drivers School.
    Wolocatiuk instructs competitive racers, as well as everyday drivers. In the school's Highway Survival Course, students get behind the wheel of a Russell SkidCar, a skid control car simulator, to learn skills the school hopes they never need.