How to gain control of a spinning car

I do not like driving, particulary on highways or any road with more than two lanes. Trucks make my heart race and watching cars snake and weave through rushing traffic causes my blood to boil.

I am not a violent person, but I have had more than one fantasy of using a flare gun to force drivers tailing too close behind me off the road. 

But driving is a necessity, so to minimize the chances of killing myself or hurting others on slippery roads I signed up for Skid School in Oakville.

Here is the link to the story and video for the Star.

On a controlled course - where I learned to recover a car skidding out on the snow - it was almost too fun to focus on learning.

I still expect sweaty palms the next time I am sandwiched between two trucks. But I highly recommend this course for anyone who wants a little extra confidence on the road.

Comments

[Brad]

I've been to that skid school. I agree it was super fun. I went as a teenager and as an adult have saved my car from spinning a few times.

But more on the topic, if you don't like to drive and are not comfortable doing so, get off the road. When I am on the road, I expect to be able to get where I am going without being stuck behind a scared driver who has no business being on there. I say this all the time, driving is serious business, it is not a game, and it should be treated with respect. What I mean by that is that you should be giving it your undivided attention and practising it. Think about it, driving a car can quite literally kill you or someone else if you are not careful, yet the people who are bad drivers just laugh it off. How many of us have friends who are we joke about being bad and unsafe drivers? Yet has anyone ever treated that bad driver like a drunk driver? I doubt it, but they are really one in the same. In my opinion that is unacceptable. If you can't drive, get out there and practice since it is something that you will rely on for the rest of your life.
Go to any country outside of North America and look at the driving conditions there. We have the tamest roads in the world here yet turn on the news and you'll see reports of crashes all over the place not to mention the fender benders seen daily on the 401, QEW, etc. Go to China and see what it's like there. Craziness. Yet you likely won't see a single accident. Why? Because they understand what driving is and show it the respect it deserves.
The fact that you get scared driving on the highway or between two trucks is probably passed off by some excuse. But think about it for a second...isn't it really because you haven't treated driving like the skill it is? This is no different from the guy that says "I can't dance" because he has no coordination. But low and behold, he practices and all of a sudden he has coordination.
Sorry for the rant, but this seriously angers me about driving in North America. We treat driving like a walking and just expect that it will either come naturally or not at all. Isn't that a stupid way to think about something as foreign as travelling down a road at speeds in excess of 100km/h? Yup.