GREENSBORO, N.C. — With our first snow in 1,038 days in the Triad, we had 40+ accidents. The first thing experts will say to avoid accidents is to slow down. I know you've heard it before, but experts say, it's not necessarily a reflection of your driving, but the other drivers around you.
"When you're going slower, you have more time to react. You can see a car sliding in front of you. When you go to the same speed as always your reaction time is much reduced. You're a lot more in danger of winding up with you hitting someone or someone hitting you," said Patrick Olsen, CARFAX.
Olsen says when you're in the car, you can be doing three things: Braking, Accelerating, and Turning. He says the rule of thumb in wet weather, is to pick one. Don't break and turn. Don't turn and accelerate. When you do either of these two and turn, that's when you slide or skid.
"If you see an icy patch in the road in front of you and you can slow down before you hit it? Great. If you can start braking after you pass it even better. Don't hit your brakes in the middle of the ice. That is a great way to lose your ability to steer the car," said Olsen.
Remember, a slide or a skid isn't about where the nose of your vehicle is headed, even though that's what you are seeing. The issue is the backside of the car. If you can feel the backside of the car moving to the left, you turn the wheel slightly to the left. If it's moving to the right, you make that slight turn to the right, but no brake and no gas. Remember, pick one.