I'm Scared!! Put the car in a ditch yesterday and can't get over my fear of driving in snow now. How can I?

Question

Shot accross a 4 lane road in front of a semi. Hit a patch of Black Ice, down-shifted too late and lost control. Wasn't going over 30 mph . Terrifies now to drive. Got kids and MUST!!

Answer 1

I did the same thing when I was pregnant with my first child and in labor. I was single at the time and couldn't find anyone to drive me to the hospital. I lived in Ohio and we had just had one of the biggest storms in about ten years. I was having contractions about every three mins. or so and one big one hit me hard. My foot slammed down on the gas and away I flew. Crossed three lanes slid sideways and closed my eyes. When the car finally stopped I was faced in the opposite direction with half the car buried in a ten foot snow bank. It took me nearly three months before I could drive again.
The biggest thing I learned is to not wait too long! Had I just got myself back into the car, without kids and no labor pains, I would have done fine. Just do things slow!
Take a short drive alone the first time and then fifteen minutes later do it again. Take the kids on the third trip so that you don't panic every time you put them in the car. Do this about five times in a row and I guarantee it will work. Your heart will be pumping but you'll do great!

Good Luck
Blessed Be

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

Glad you were not hurt! I know how scary that can be. Does your car have front or rear wheel drive. The reason I ask is the way you react in these situations differs with front drive vs rear drive. What I did 30 years ago when I learned to drive in the snow was to go find a huge mall parking lot, EMPTY of course and just goof off with the car to get a feel of how things worked under different situations, play with it that way. WITHOUT the kids in the car,that should build up your confidence and if a cop shows up while you are doing donuts at the mall, explain to him your situation chance are he will understand and actually appreciate the fact that you are trying to become a safer driver in bad weather.

Answer 4

STAY HOME!!! You don't know what you're doing and even if you do hardly anyone else does, I don't care what anyone says YOU CAN"T DRIVE ON ICE..

1. What type of drive train do you have? Front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, All wheel drive. In snow and ice conditions I'll take All Wheel drive 1st, followed by 4 wheel drive, front wheel and lastly rear wheel.

2. WHY ON EARTH DID YOU DOWN SHIFT.....? That's what caused you to LOOSE CONTROL of the vehicle. You can be sliding on ice or snow and still have a measure of contro.

When you start to skid:

1) Take your foot of the gas.

2) DO NOT APPLY THE BRAKES OR CHANGE GEARS. This will casue the tire too stop rotating and you are now a sled.

3) GENTLY! Gently turn a little in the direction of the skid. So if you have a rear wheel drive car turn toward the direction the back end is going.

4)As the front of the wehicle now turns toward the direction of the skid slowly and gently take out some correction until hopefull the car has straightened out .

5)Once you regain control and aren't on the ice you can gently apply the accelerator.

In 1987 I was in a skid on ice over a bridge going 65 mph where the rear wheeel drive broke loose and I'm looking a a concrete barrier sliding by the nose of the car in a instant. I took my foot off the gas and with one hand on the wheel corrected into the skid (GENTLY) The car came around thru my direction of travel and now was 90 degrees looking at the concreted barrier on the other side of the bridge go by the nose of the car. Went thruoght this to full left again then straightening back out when I regained traction pointing twentyfive degrees to the right of the direction of travel heading over a 70 foot dropoff at still 60 mph! I made a quickjerking motion to the left with my left hand on the wheel, I did this all one handed, and my car proceede forward down the lane I started in like I never got in a skid.!!! My friend sitting next to me haden't said a word then in a low voice he said good job.. I told him to roll down his window. True story.

Ok now listen. When you apply power and the tires spin or just one spins if you don't have a limited slip differential.

The car'spinning tires will want to drift right due to the torque created bythe engine,

When in traffic in the snow, its kinda like the bumper cars at the amusement park so watch out. Give yourself 4 to 5 times the distance between you and everyone or thing out there.

When you apply your brakes on ice or snow (which has turned to ice underneath the snow) even if you have anti lock brakes the action of apply brakes must be made in a very gentle manner because the tires usually don't have any contact with the pavement and when on ice or packet snow apply the brakes well in advance of your stopping point. Because there is no traction the application of the brakes will inmost cases casue the tire to stop spinning and now its sliding ine the direction it was travelling before it stopped spinning and started sliding on a small patch underneath each car. Once the wheel stops spining you now had a sled, you can turn the wheel left and right but the direction and monentum are unaffected becasue the tire tread that provides grip/traction is not moving. So apply the brakes very gently way in advance to give you some manuver room.
Again once you cause the tires to stop spining they are sliding and you have virtually no dirdirectonial control


When growing up my Dad would take me into a field or parking lot with nothing to hit I learned how the vehicle would react and how to correct the for the sliding motion depending what the car was doing. It rained one time and we went to a closed school yard that had an inch or so of standing water and reallly learned just what would work. Tore up a play ground. covered the car in mud and grass but I learned. Once the wheel stops rolling but you're still moving you no longer have directional control you can turn the wheel all you want but you're going where you were pointed.

Answer 5

Did you learn anything? If you did thats good! Now you know that you are not able to do that, but don't be afraid of driving. I was 11 when I first learned to drive and there was like 2 feet of snow on the ground.(Wisconsin) and I did not hit one thing, you know why? Because I was not legally doing it. If I was I would be driving like everyone else. Just take your time. one thing to not do is drink a highly caffinated drink because it makes you more jumpy. Also think about this...WHat is the chance its going to happen again? It wount unless you sit there and play in front of then the whole time right? Okay well got to go

Answer 6

The most important thing when driving in the snow is to avoid driving in it if you can! Take it slow and know your limits, don't drive long distances, have good treads, don't put excessive weight in your trunk if you don't have rear wheel drive (that's a huge mistake many people make). What kind of brakes do you have? Never slam the brakes. If they are antilock, don't tap them, that's about as smart as giving a kid a cleever. Drive with a clear mind, the more you are nervous, the more likely you are to mess yourself up. I can go on like this all day...

Answer 7

organic as pushed snow potential something this is untouched. that's once you look out your window in the time of a snow fall and notice the snow blowing around the sector. The wind is in the back of it, so that's pushed snow. And, because of the fact it hasn't been on the floor OR on your automobile, that's organic.

Answer 8

First of all speed kills, so don't drive too fast. Know what your vehicle is capable of, and know what you are capable of. As for downshifting that was your mistake you were going to fast to downshift and the tires spun causing you to loose control. Do not downshift at the same speeds as you would when driving in good weather, slow down sooner and then downshift. Get back out there and drive. I've driven in snow for 9 years and I love it, one reason being is the snow fills in all the potholes so the roads are smoother. Basically take your time and drive at speeds you feel safe at driving. If the person behind you doesn't like it let them pass you, and then you can laugh at them when you pass them as they are sitting in the ditch.

Answer 9

If you can't handle the snow, stay home or move to Arizona. I see dozens of people just like you every time we get a few flakes here in Colorado. Until you learn that your ABS, traction control, stability control, GPS and AWD do not let your car drive itself (no traction is no traction!), you should avoid inclement weather.

Nothing personal, but the money spent rescuing inept people from their own folly is very high here, and I'd rather see it spent on better things.

Answer 10

Last year, I was forced off a road down a ledge and smashed into a wall. I was so scared to drive after that, but I took it slow the first time until I got my nerve back. You can do it. Just take it slow.