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Most of the accidents which happen in severe weather are due to driver error; or poor driving habits. Keeping control of the vehicle on icy or wet conditions is a job not to be taken lightly. I've driven for over thirty one years professionally in some of the most adverse conditions "Mother Nature" had to offer, and still have over three million safe driving miles.

Keeping and maintaining control of your vehicle is the number one rule in bad weather. Anyone who has driven for a while usually obtains a "feel" for the vehicle they're driving. But, when the roads turn hazardous this feel of your vehicle leaves, and many cars end up in median strips or in the ditch by drivers who didn't make the correct decision when it was most needed.

The loss of control or "fish tailing" is one of the most seen occurrences which causes accidents in severe weather. Many drivers are just not aware of how to regain control of their vehicle once the car has lost its balance. Other drivers are aware of how to retain control but "panic" and end up in an accident anyway.

I won't go into everything to keep you out of a skid; because the focus of this article is "Controlling you car in a skid" so here are some tips which can help to keep you safe, and keep your insurance rates down.

1. Learn to steer out of a skid. The degree of this maneuver will vary according to road conditions such as: ice, large amounts of snow on the road, brake lock up, bad brake adjustment, and exactly how far around the vehicle has slid in the roadway.

When you first feel the loss of control of your car turn your steering wheel in the direction of the skid. This simply means; if the rear of your vehicle is sliding to the right, turn the steering wheel to the right easy until the vehicle starts to straighten up then straighten out your steering wheel slowly.

Don't turn your steering wheel in different directions while trying to correct the skid, work on one direction at a time. Now if you've over steered and the vehicle slides in the opposite direction repeat the same procedure as before; steer in the direction of the skid. The only time you need to react quickly is if the vehicle is close to halfway around.

Driving and counter steering on ice is a whole different ballpark. I've been pulling two trailers on ice at fifty miles an hour (or better) and the rear trailer slid almost halfway around; while the front trailer was jackknifing in the opposite direction. Slow adjustments of the steering wheel brought both of the

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