How to Survive on the Road: 10 Driving Emergencies

Whether you’ve experienced one of these emergencies before or you want to avoid ever experiencing one, we are sure that the information you get here in Philkotse.com will be useful. So take a good read and don’t forget to share it with friends and family so they can also keep safe.

1. When you think the road is clear, think again

Every time you sit in that driver’s seat right in front of the steering wheel, it’s like you are virtually ticking the checkbox that says "I accept all terms and conditions.” Driving a vehicle is not just plain entering the highway and start roaring the engine; you are responsible for everything that comes up your way – even if it’s not your fault.

Whether it’s a pedestrian who suddenly ran across the road or even a drunken motorcycle driver who drives as if he is sewing the road, if there’s an accident between and you and one of those people, you are considered as a participant of the accident and not a victim

 So to avoid accidents on the road, maximize your vision and stay focused on the road. This will help you react in a timely manner if there happens to be a surprise element in your proximity.

Driving a vehicle is not just plain entering the highway and start roaring the engine; you are responsible for everything that comes up your way – even if it’s not your fault

2. Unseen Vehicles and People

A fairly large portion of the accidents that happen every year involves a vehicle that made an attempt to turn or was trying to cross an intersection. There is actually a mnemonic that can help raise your awareness and focus every time you make a turn – remember BLT. This means brake, look and turn. For U-turns don’t forget to look at the rear-view mirror as well.

3. Jump-scare Stops

If you’re peacefully driving down the road then an accident happens right in front of you, of course, you would want to stop. Cars these days are mostly built with computers managing almost 15% of the functions. With all the innovations that took place in recent years in the automobile industry, the only way for auto upgrades is to move forward.

Your vehicle will most like have an antilock braking system that activates when you step on to the brakes really hard. Stopping as early as possible when you see accident risks ahead will prevent you from being a participant and save you from headaches.

Your vehicle will most like have an antilock braking system that activates when you step on to the brakes really hard

4. Your Car’s ABS: Recognize and Utilize

If you are not thoroughly familiar with your car’s ABS then you should know that this system allows you to steer even though you are hitting the brakes. However, doing this is not for the faint of heart or those for with the lack of skill as it can cause accidents. To point out how this helps you would need to understand that tires are most effective at stopping when pointed straight.

In older cars with no ABS, once the brake is applied there will be no more control over the steering since the brakes will stop the tire’s rotation. With modern cars that have ABS, some of the stopping power can be traded for steering power. This is helpful when you want to stop the car for example but avoid a collision ahead at the same time.

>>> Read more: Do’s and Don’ts when car brakes fail

5. Driving off the road

This happens when the driver suddenly finds two wheels of his car not touching the highway anymore. Most will panic but what should be done at first is to calm down. They need to understand that accelerating will make things worse and that they need to slow down and then try to steer back into the high road when they can.

Driving off the road happens when the driver suddenly finds two wheels of his car not touching the highway anymore

6. Rubber Blowout

Blowing out a tire is a real shocker, and if you’re not trained or if you don’t understand the physics of your vehicle; then you might do something that may get you in an accident. Take it as if you’re driving away from a chase with the police and instead of slowing down because you blew a tire, you blast the accelerator and let the car slow down all by itself. Use this time to pull yourself together and look out for a good spot to park your vehicle. Then turn on the necessary lights and drive off the road slowly to inspect your car.

7. Steering wheel Gone Wild

This is when it looks like you’re losing control of your tires but your steering has actually gone super sensitive. Jerking the wheel left and right could cause your car to spin as it loses traction so this is definitely not something you should do.

When you feel your steering is over-reactive; don’t panic or tug the steering wheel left and right. Instead, swerve your steering wheel slowly and smoothly. This will move the car side to side but still in a maneuverable manner because it still has turning power rather than losing control.

Jerking the wheel left and right could cause your car to spin as it loses traction so this is definitely not something you should do

8. Acceleration is stuck

Stuck throttles are scary especially if you are a driver that has never been educated about this kind of emergency. This usually happens when there’s an engine failure or sometimes human failure- like getting the floor mat stuck in the space gap of the accelerator and the floor.

If this happens to you, stay calm and make sure you and your passengers have their seatbelts on. Pushing on the brakes is something that you would first need to do until it eventually overpowers the tire roll. However, you may not be able to hold this for a long time so as soon as it slows down or stops, go to Neutral, turn off your car’s ignition immediately.

9. The Front Tire Skid

When this happens and all you can do is a curse in confusion follow the steps we suggest below:

• Take your foot off the accelerator.
• Do not step on the brakes, you may feel the natural urge to do so but don’t.
• Keep your hands on the wheel to avoid spinning out. Don’t attempt to swerve out of this.
• Patiently wait for the traction to return and hopefully you don’t take part in an accident while waiting.

The first step when your car's front tire skid is to not step on the brakes, you may feel the natural urge to do so but don’t

10. Rear Tire Skid

While there is already a formula to stop a front tire skid there is still no scientific and sure formula to stop a rear tire skid. Most experienced drivers say that electronic stability control helps but so does keeping well-tread tires.