If you have a good understanding of your car’s driving properties (i.e. how your car performs) you will be better able to prevent and manage difficult situations. A car’s driving characteristics will vary depending on how the car is designed and constructed. You should therefore drive slowly and carefully when driving a new car for the first time.

Examples of factors which affect driving characteristics:

• Whether the car is a front-wheel, rear-wheel or four-wheel drive.
• The condition, placing and air pressure of the tyres.
• The car’s brakes.
• The weight and placing of a load in the car.
• The condition of the shock absorbers.

Drive System

Front-wheel drive

If a car has front-wheel drive, this means that the engine powers the front wheels. Front-wheel drive cars are more understeered than rear-wheel drive cars. Understeering is better than oversteering, as it can be very difficult to control an oversteered car that is in a rear-wheel skid. Most cars that are made nowadays have front- wheel drive, as their road characteristics are considered to be better than those with rear-wheel drive in poor road conditions.

If you accelerate too much on a slippery road, the front wheels can begin to spin and lose traction, and you lose all ability to steer. To regain traction you will need to stop accelerating.

Rear-wheel drive

Rear-wheel drive means that the engine powers the rear wheels. Rear-wheel drive cars are more oversteered than front-wheel drive cars. Rear-wheel drive cars are still made, but most car manufacturers are switching to front-wheel drive cars due to their better qualities in poor road conditions. If you accelerate too much in slippery road conditions, the rear tyres will lose traction and the car will go into a rear-wheel skid.

Four-wheel drive

If a car has four-wheel drive, this means that the engine powers all four of the car’s wheels. Four-wheel drive cars can more easily drive over difficult terrain, such as mud, snow and ice. If you accelerate too much, all four wheels can skid.

Oversteering

Oversteering means that the car turns more bends than the equivalent turn of the steering wheel. This happens when the sides of the rear tyres have worse traction than the front tyres.

Factors that can contribute to oversteering

• Worn rear tyres on a poor road surface
• Tail-heavy car and wind from the side
• Accelerating quickly in a rear-wheel drive car
• The rear tyres aquaplane
• Hard braking
• Heavy load
• Trailer

Understeering

Understeering means that the car turns less at bends than the equivalent turn of the steering wheel. This happens when the front tyres have less traction at the sides than the rear tyres.

Factors that can contribute to understeering

• Hard braking in a car without ABS brakes
• Worn front tyres on poor road surface
• Accelerating quickly in a front-wheel drive car
• Front-heavy front-wheel drive car
• Heavy load
• Trailer