When driving in snow and ice conditions, sliding risks are greatly enhanced. This is caused by a lack of traction.

A major advantage to prevent this loss of traction is the anti-lock braking system or ABS. This system is standard in most vehicles today. It automatically pumps the brakes, applies pressure and releases pressure many times per second.

You can often feel the vibration through the brake petal when you step on it during a skid.

The natural tendency when encountering a skid is to press hard on the brake. This is appropriate when your vehicle has an ABS system. It allows you to steer when pressing on the brake.

If your vehicle doesn’t have an ABS system then pump the brake repeatedly. If the brakes lock up, steering usually won’t help.

The Idaho Drivers’ Handbook recommends turning into the skid to correct it. Many drivers don’t understand what that means. A better way to understand this is to turn toward your target.

Targeting is one of the first things we teach in drivers education. Targeting is training your vision to look at a point on the road in the center of your path of travel at least 40 feet ahead.

When in a slide turn back toward your target. That seems easier to understand than turning into the skid.

Bus Safety:

While we are talking traffic safety, please remember there are NO medians in Malad, so it is illegal to pass a school bus in any direction when the stop sign is extended and the lights are on. There must be a median between the lanes of traffic to pass a bus going the opposite direction.

A median is a space of grass or other barrier separating opposing lanes.

While Malad has turn lanes and a few wider roads, we have NO medians!

So anytime you see lights and a stop sign extended, do not pass in either direction.