How To Drive A Motorcar
A Key To The Subtleties Of Motoring

FRONT.WHEEL SKIDS the case of a bad skid in the hands of an inexperienced driver admittedly great danger lurks. The expert, however, often employs a skid to save the situation. Now, to those without experience, a warning may be issued that no ordinary tyre can be effective in all circumstances against the possibility of bad skidding. In fact, it is both unreasonable and unmechanical even to think that it could. Given certain conditions which are frequently met with and often practised by in- experienced drivers, a car will and must skid—so long as the laws of mechanics remain what they are. Two Types of Skids In this question of skidding there are two distinct types, i.e., the front-wheel skid and the rear-wheel skid. The former one is luckily far less common than the latter type, and also much more difficult to deal with. In most cases drastic methods are needed successfully to cope with a front-wheel skid, and any driver, even the most experienced in the world, may quite reason- ably be involved in an accident clue to a front-wheel skid. It is often very difficult to foresee the danger spot, and some pieces of road which look quite danger- ous are often found to be perfectly safe, and others, which hardly even enter into consideration from the danger point of view, are found to be veritable hotbeds of front-wheel skids. A front-wheel skid on a dry road at an ordinary driv- ing speed, with any type of tyre, may almost be ruled out of tha area of practical politics. It is, however, in the case of greasy roads where the great danger lies. Even with a non-skid tyre on one of the front wheels, the writer has experienced on more than one occasion a pronounced front-wheel skid, which is all the more dis- concerting as one is naturally not anticipating such a thing. The writer’s memory does not recall a case of such a skid with both front wheels fitted with non-skid tyres, but then few cars are so equipped, and conse- quently one does not have much opportunity of coming across such an occurrence. A front-wheel skid, even under such circumstances, is conceivable. 105