• Check your mirrors, glance over your shoulder, andstart your left lane change signal before moving outof the right lane to pass. When you are farenough ahead of the passed vehicle to see its frontin your inside mirror, activate your right lanechange signal and move back into the right lane.Remember that your right outside mirror is convex.The vehicle you just passed may seem to befarther away from you than it really is.• Try not to pass more than one vehicle at a time ontwo-lane roads. Reconsider before passing thenext vehicle.• Do not overtake a slowly moving vehicle too rapidly.Even though the brake lamps are not flashing, itmay be slowing down or starting to turn.• If you are being passed, make it easy for thefollowing driver to get ahead of you. Perhapsyou can ease a little to the right.Loss of ControlLet us review what driving experts say about whathappens when the three control systems — brakes,steering, and acceleration — do not have enough frictionwhere the tires meet the road to do what the driverhas asked.In any emergency, do not give up. Keep trying to steerand constantly seek an escape route or area of lessdanger.SkiddingIn a skid, a driver can lose control of the vehicle.Defensive drivers avoid most skids by taking reasonablecare suited to existing conditions, and by not overdrivingthose conditions. But skids are always possible.The three types of skids correspond to your vehicle’sthree control systems. In the braking skid, your wheelsare not rolling. In the steering or cornering skid, too muchspeed or steering in a curve causes tires to slip and losecornering force. And in the acceleration skid, too muchthrottle causes the driving wheels to spin.4-14
