What could I have done differently?

Well it depends on the situation and how fast the car comes around. If you feel the tail start to come around hard you have to snap the opposite lock in to get it back, but if it's too late, it's too late in that case. Some slides you just can't catch. A slower slide can be corrected a bit slower but like i said it all depends on the situation. As far as brakes go DONT USE THEM AT ALL. In most cases you'll make the slide worse. As far as throttle, it depends, usually I don't come out of the gas but sometimes you have to, to get the car back under control. It also depends on what kind of car you're driving. I'm assuming you have a front engine rear drive. It would be different in an AWD or FWD in which case you want to get back on the gas to use the front wheels to pull you out of the slide.

 

True.. Depends on the type of car and power train (Front, Rear or All). Some skids you just cant recover from, especially hard under ice, snow, slippery rain conditions. You dont know what you hit and if youre gonna hit some more. We have to assume you were at some type of highway speed too.

Maybe you should post this one in the PROVE GOD EXISTS thread cause sometimes the man upstairs is looking out for us.

 

With ice involved its also almost impossible to catch back.

 

If you it a patch of ice there is nothing that you can do, just hope for the best.

 

It depends on the patch of ice I guess. If it's a rather small one you might be able to get out of it. I once worked in an airport and while driving a tug with a co-worker we go over a patch of ice. He looked at me and smiled. The focker then proceeded to yank the parking brake on me. I corrected it and kept on going. It was a pretty small patch so I came out of it. He looked at me in amazement.

 

You were driving too fast for the conditions.

Slow down.

 

Take a driving school.

 

I assume you were driving the WRX? If your rear wheels start to slide out, turn the wheel the opposite direction that the front is spinning (if your rear wheels slide to your left, crank the wheel left). With AWD, when you get the car pointed the right direction, sometimes you can help correct by tapping the gas a little so that one or more wheels can gain traction. Do not use your brakes. Of course, the faster you're going, the harder it is to correct. I took out a light pole off the highway last November in my Saab.

 

In some situations you can regain control by depressing the clutch or slipping it into neutral for a second or two. This disconnects the wheels from the engine so that even with your foot of the gas the engine is not driving the wheels and continuing to "push or pull" you in the wrong direction.

 

Chris,
Glad it was a "near" accident and you are both safe. Looks like we got some more of the white stuff this morning to help all of the last minute hurried holiday grocery shoppers today.

Did it happen down near Dimond?

 

Contrary to your impulse to brake hard, when you start sliding in the WRX you should point where you want to go and apply throttle. The AWD will pull against a slide and often the car snaps back into place (my experience). I've been in a few icy slides on the highway at 50-65mph with the tail coming around (twice after being cut off), pressed the throttle more with the wheel pointed straight up the lane, and the WRX snapped straight like a champ.

You should really find a big, empty parking lot in the winter and slide around for a while to get a feel for it. Just don't slide the WRX on bare pavement that's not wet/icy/snowy or it will damage the differential. Being in AK, you should look into some dedicated snow tires too. RE92's are not great for winter.

 

Always turn your wheels the way you want to go!!!!

 

One last thing: if you have completely lost control, locking the brakes solidly will at least insure you slide in a straight line from that point on. That can be a lot better than shooting off to one side in a random trajectory. Especially useful if you hit a patch of ice that spins you without imparting significant side motion. Lock the brakes and slide straight down the road.