I thought I was a good driver until the day I held on for dear life to the steering wheel as my car spun around in circles on snow-covered pavement.
That's when I realized that if I ever hit black ice, I wouldn't know what to do.
Meghan Hurley hones her skills with driving instructor Larry Willits.
I just recently moved to Winnipeg from Toronto and wasn't prepared for the winter here. I thought that cruising around on 15-inch low-profile tires was cool -- before I slid past three stop signs. My first instinct was to brake as hard as possible until my ABS kicked in, which felt like my foot was being electrocuted.
On my way to work the morning after a major snowfall, I found out I should also get some lessons on how to swerve abruptly. A car randomly pulled out in front of me and into oncoming traffic as the driver tried to turn down a side street. In response, I slammed on my brakes, spun out and stalled my car. I avoided an accident but I panicked and didn't think to put the car into neutral to steer my way out of the situation.
My last straw was when I got stuck in the middle of an intersection with my tires spinning.
When the light turned green and cars were in the perfect position to T-bone me, I realized that I needed winter tires and driving lessons ASAP. Two men hopped out of their large truck and kindly pushed me to safety.
A day later, I was on a driving course spinning around in a car called the "Skid Monster." The back wheels have been replaced with ones that can spin 360 degrees. The car simulates skidding at a low speed so students can practise techniques to help them gain control of their car.
Thankfully, when I spun around in circles until I felt dizzy, I was with veteran driving instructor Larry Willits on a track and not a city road.
Apparently, spinning was what the instructor wanted me to do so he could show me how to get out of it. But my response was "Ahhhhhhhhhh! What did I just do?!!"
I learned that when you start skidding the worst thing to do is slam on your brakes. The best thing to do is to steer in the direction of the skid and accelerate. Who knew going faster in a front-wheel-drive car would help.
The winter-driving course at St. Andrews Airport is run by the Manitoba Safety Council. A few hours are spent in class going over defensive driving techniques that prime you for the driving course.
Then, students hit the track.
They practise steering out of skids, which I had the chance to do. Students also go through a serpentine course.
"Something fell," Willits said to Kevin Adair, who was driving a van through the serpentine course. The course helps students learn to avoid hitting something that fell out of a truck or to avoid rear-ending someone who slammed on their brakes.
In response to Willits' command, Adair swerved to the right, swerved back and then straightened the wheel. I was in the back seat during the serpentine course, feeling slightly nauseous at the rather erratic driving . But this technique is an important one to learn.
The next winter-driving course will be held on Dec. 19. To register, call the Manitoba Safety Council at 949-1085.
meghan.hurley@freepress.mb.ca
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