first dodgy experience
Discussion
Hello all.
I passed my driving test about a month ago and it's been going ok so far. The car is an '06 corsa.
It was quite a wet day yesterday and when driving home from work I had my first scare. This is the patch of road: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=57.165916,-2.1157...
I was coming along the A96 in the top of the picture and exiting at the 3rd exit, staying on the A96. I changed into second gear before entering the roundabout and stayed at a steady speed of something like 15-18mph throughout. Roughly where the red car is in the photo the back end of my car began drifting out and the steering went very light, i managed to swing it the other way to avoid going onto the roundabout and then turned slowly into the skid and it was ok after that.
If there was another vehicle close by I imagine I would have been in a collision.
On the photos you can see 2 drains on the roundabout which I could have hit but I don't think so to be honest, I was probably close to the middle of the road preparing to exit
Is there something I should have done to avoid this? Was I going too fast? This isn't the first time the car has been a bit dodgy in bad conditions; it's slid off down a hill in the snow and my gf couldn't stop it - luckily there was nothing going across the road and she avoided a crash.
I passed my driving test about a month ago and it's been going ok so far. The car is an '06 corsa.
It was quite a wet day yesterday and when driving home from work I had my first scare. This is the patch of road: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=57.165916,-2.1157...
I was coming along the A96 in the top of the picture and exiting at the 3rd exit, staying on the A96. I changed into second gear before entering the roundabout and stayed at a steady speed of something like 15-18mph throughout. Roughly where the red car is in the photo the back end of my car began drifting out and the steering went very light, i managed to swing it the other way to avoid going onto the roundabout and then turned slowly into the skid and it was ok after that.
If there was another vehicle close by I imagine I would have been in a collision.
On the photos you can see 2 drains on the roundabout which I could have hit but I don't think so to be honest, I was probably close to the middle of the road preparing to exit
Is there something I should have done to avoid this? Was I going too fast? This isn't the first time the car has been a bit dodgy in bad conditions; it's slid off down a hill in the snow and my gf couldn't stop it - luckily there was nothing going across the road and she avoided a crash.
big bloke said:
does the car have ling long tyres on?
was there diesel on the road?
Would I be able to see diesel on the road? I wanted to check but there wasn't really anywhere to stop and check, busy roads on all the exits.was there diesel on the road?
The car has one 'normal' tyre and 3 new fancy ones, maybe bridgestones? think they were about £130 each. I thought that was a bit weird but kwik-fit said it was fine and sent us packing. Now that i've put that in writing it seems even dodgier. Is that a normal thing to do with tyres?
newdriver said:
Would I be able to see diesel on the road? I wanted to check but there wasn't really anywhere to stop and check, busy roads on all the exits.
The car has one 'normal' tyre and 3 new fancy ones, maybe bridgestones? think they were about £130 each. I thought that was a bit weird but kwik-fit said it was fine and sent us packing. Now that i've put that in writing it seems even dodgier. Is that a normal thing to do with tyres?
If you are saying that Kwik Fit put 4 new tyres on and only put on 3 of the same make and brand and then put one 'other' make on. Then no that is not normal and I would not be happy about it - different tread patterns / tyre dynamics etc - I would be taking it straight back.The car has one 'normal' tyre and 3 new fancy ones, maybe bridgestones? think they were about £130 each. I thought that was a bit weird but kwik-fit said it was fine and sent us packing. Now that i've put that in writing it seems even dodgier. Is that a normal thing to do with tyres?
Had it been dry for a while before that rain? Roads can be very slippery in that situation, I suspect you were just driving too fast for the grip available.
Different tyres on different wheels is not ideal, but I suspect that 80% of the cars on the road are like that and they don't get spat off the road on every corner; as long as the tyres have a decent amount of tread and are in good condition, I wouldn't be looking to blame them.
Different tyres on different wheels is not ideal, but I suspect that 80% of the cars on the road are like that and they don't get spat off the road on every corner; as long as the tyres have a decent amount of tread and are in good condition, I wouldn't be looking to blame them.
I used to live near a big roundabout which was near a bus terminus. All the buses would come out of the garage brimful of diesel, a fair amount sploshing out when they went around the roundabout.
One way to tell if it's due to diesel on the road, borrow a friend's motorbike and repeat the manoeuvre
One way to tell if it's due to diesel on the road, borrow a friend's motorbike and repeat the manoeuvre
Tyres would be the first thing to cheek, would be an idea to get 4th replaced so it matches. Also get suspension and steering rack checked to make sure nothing wrong there. It's a strong possibility you could have hit spilt fuel, as roundabouts are the usual dumping points due to vehicles leaning, it can be spotted easier in the wet as it looks streaky white in colour.
The odd tyre is on the rear right wheel I think, i'll check later but pretty sure.
What I really want to know is would most good drivers have taken that roundabout (or any similar junction or hazard) at a lower speed than I did? I'm trying to be as safe as possible but it's proving difficult!
What I really want to know is would most good drivers have taken that roundabout (or any similar junction or hazard) at a lower speed than I did? I'm trying to be as safe as possible but it's proving difficult!
I don't think anyone would have entered the roundabout slower than that, but if it was simply a case of grip levels being very low, a more experienced driver might have noticed it from the way the car was behaving before they lost traction and slowed to compensate. Very hard to tell without driving the same piece of road in the same conditions.
If, for whatever reason, that particular small piece of road did have much less grip than the rest, there's not a great deal you could have done to avoid sliding; it's quite hard to tell from your description whether you could have dealt with the slide better once it started.
If, for whatever reason, that particular small piece of road did have much less grip than the rest, there's not a great deal you could have done to avoid sliding; it's quite hard to tell from your description whether you could have dealt with the slide better once it started.
From your description, the light steering is obviously the front wheels losing grip. As your car is front wheel drive, this is easy to do in wet/slippery conditions if you accelerate/travel too fast whilst turning the wheels. The fact that you say that the rear end was drifting out suggests that all wheels had lost traction.
It does seem likely that there was oil/diesel on the road (mud perhaps- this is bloody slippery if wet). The fact that you didn't fly off the road tells me that you weren't going too fast, but the fact you skidded- did the ABS kick in at all?
It does seem likely that there was oil/diesel on the road (mud perhaps- this is bloody slippery if wet). The fact that you didn't fly off the road tells me that you weren't going too fast, but the fact you skidded- did the ABS kick in at all?
What a load of crap being passed around here about good grip/bad grip on new tyres verses old. I have been driving for 30 years (not non stop of course) and I have never made sure that the same brand of tyre is fited or even if some are worn more than others. Presently I have 3 different brands on my day car. I don't dilly dally around, especially in the tiv and I have never had any mishaps because of tyre choice.
At the speed the OP is talking about, or even his driving style (slow and safe) then tyre brands makes no difference. Tyre pressures of course are important.
I would guess that there was oil or diesel on that section of roundabout and at that speed, 15-18 mph nothing could be done to avoid it if it wasn't seen before hand.
At the speed the OP is talking about, or even his driving style (slow and safe) then tyre brands makes no difference. Tyre pressures of course are important.
I would guess that there was oil or diesel on that section of roundabout and at that speed, 15-18 mph nothing could be done to avoid it if it wasn't seen before hand.
I drive that roundabout a few times a week, maybe more.
It is on a hill, and it's not perfectly round so the turn gets tighter. It was also incredibly wet yesterday after a few days of no rain. The roads are always a bit slippy that first day of rain. I was spinning the wheels accelerating in 3rd gear on the A96 yesterday.
It is on a hill, and it's not perfectly round so the turn gets tighter. It was also incredibly wet yesterday after a few days of no rain. The roads are always a bit slippy that first day of rain. I was spinning the wheels accelerating in 3rd gear on the A96 yesterday.
Very easy, especially in lower gears, to be inexperienced and almost subconsciously lift off as you feel you've entered a corner too fast. In low grip conditions this can quickly turn from understeer to oversteer.
Best advice is not to trust wet surfaces any more than you absolutely have to and keep everything slow and progressive when entering corners. If one end or the other enters a slide, be prepared to react in the right way to the right level (easier said than done until you've experienced slides from different angles). The first time you experience even mild understeer, that automatic 'ah! Jump right off the throttle' can be the ironic thing that sends you hedge bound.
Best advice is not to trust wet surfaces any more than you absolutely have to and keep everything slow and progressive when entering corners. If one end or the other enters a slide, be prepared to react in the right way to the right level (easier said than done until you've experienced slides from different angles). The first time you experience even mild understeer, that automatic 'ah! Jump right off the throttle' can be the ironic thing that sends you hedge bound.
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