🚀 go-pugleaf

Walter Bright writes:
>One thing I learned is that there is a point of no return on a skid, and
>that is when the angle of the car is more acute than the angle the wheels
>can turn. At this point, you are going to do a 360.

Huh?  That's just being sideways.  It's quite possible to put a car sideways
and remain in control.  Some of us do it for fun, although not on the public
roads (where it's called ``reckless driving'').

I was under the impression that is what we were talking about; what to do when
you get sideways in spite of your best efforts.  There's no great skill needed
in recovering from a minor shimmy.  You do need a realistic assessment of your
vehicle's capabilities on the road you purpose to take.

>When this happens, the
>best thing to do is *Jam The Brakes On And Lock All 4 Wheels*. What this
>does is cause the car to slide in a straight line (while still rotating).

You may want to consider what is lurking at the end of that straight line.  I
see plenty of cars which attempt to climb a steep S-curving road, with ditches
on both sides, on ice.  Repeated tests have shown that the ditches work quite
well.  One of the best testers is the ``I can drive on snow, just get a little
momentum going'' crowd.  The irony, of course, is that there is a detour that
is straight as an arrow through the hills; it only adds about 1/2 mile to the
total trip.  But no, they have to test the S-curves and the ditches.  Great
entertainment to watch.

The other deadly edge about ``lock your wheels and slide to a stop'' is that
by sacrificing the remaining adhesion you have, you have given up all control
over your vehicle.  You may, in fact, end up going further that you would have
if you had held on to your adhesion.