What to Do When Your Car Starts Sliding on Ice

Here are the dos and don’ts for when your car starts sliding on ice—and how to stop it from happening in the first place.
Written by Cameron Thiessen
Reviewed by Jessica Barrett
When your car starts sliding on ice, it’s best to stay calm, avoid applying the brake, and turn into the slide. You can prevent sliding in icy conditions by purchasing winter tires, slowing down, and driving carefully.
Sliding on ice can be a scary moment for any driver. Bad weather can cause serious wrecks and multi-car pileups, especially when it catches us by surprise. But if you want to drive confidently in the winter, there are practical ways that you can prepare yourself for that ominous first snowfall of the season.
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What to do if your car’s sliding on an icy road

Chances are if you live and drive somewhere like New York, where road conditions can go bad overnight in the winter months, you’re going to slide on ice at some point. The best defense is knowing how to handle it. You’re off to a great start by doing your research!
Here’s what to do.

Don’t panic

Sure—not panicking is easier said than done, but the point remains. If you panic and start trying to make sudden steering moves, you might make matters worse! If you stay calm, you’re more likely to do the right thing when you’re caught off guard by a patch of ice.
How do you prevent yourself from freaking out? Be prepared. If you know what to expect and how to react in slippery conditions, you’ll be better able to maintain your composure.

Turn into the skid

Okay, so you’re sliding out of control but you’re staying calm. Now, turn your steering wheel in the direction that the rear of your vehicle is sliding. This is often referred to as turning into the slide. Another way to think of this is you want to point your front wheels in the direction you want the car to go.
You might need to do this a couple of times—if you oversteer into the skid, your car might start sliding the other way, meaning you’ll have to turn the wheel back in the other direction. As long as you’re always responding as your slide changes direction, you should be able to eventually correct your skid. 
Always try your best to not overcorrect, which is why you’re better off staying calm and making calculated, accurate steering corrections to come out of the slide and regain traction.

Don’t hit the brake pedal

Your first reaction when you start sliding might be to slam on the brakes, but resist the urge! Hitting the brake pedal will stop your wheels from turning, and you need them to be turning freely to regain traction and correct your slide. If you slam your brakes, it will only make the slide worse.

Tips to deal with black ice and winter weather

Depending on where you live, winter driving might just be a thing you have to live with. Luckily, there are a few practical things you can do to keep yourself safe, even when dealing with black ice.

Slow down!

One of the best things you can do to avoid sliding is to reduce your speed. The faster you’re going when you hit a patch of black ice, the more likely you are to lose control, and the more dangerous your slide could be.

Invest in snow tires

Snow tires—also referred to as winter tires—are specially made to optimize traction when driving on snow and ice! If you’re in an area where snowfall is a common thing, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches by having a set of winter tires put on your car before the bad weather hits.
Of course, even with snow tires, you might still have to deal with a slide now and then. Some ice is just too slippery even for snow tires to get proper traction. That’s why slowing down is still the number one tip for dealing with winter roads!
MORE: Winter tires vs. all-season tires: Which is better?

Understand your anti-lock brakes

If you slam on your brakes, your anti-lock braking system (ABS) will kick in. This system automatically pumps your brakes to decrease stopping distance when driving on pavement, but if you’re driving on snow, ABS will increase your stopping distance.
If you find yourself driving down an icy hill and need to slow down, decelerate by taking your foot off the gas. If you absolutely need to brake and you aren’t sliding, apply the brake lightly. If you stomp on the brake, ABS will kick in. This can cause spin outs.

Don’t tailgate

Seriously, do not be that guy! When you’re driving on icy roads, stopping takes longer, which means you should be leaving more room than usual between you and the vehicle in front of you. 
If some jerk starts tailgating you, let them! It’s their responsibility to avoid rear-ending you. But if you get too scared of a tailgater, you can always just pull off to the shoulder and let them go by.
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FAQs

No. Your tires need to be spinning freely for you to be able to correct a slide. Hitting your brakes will only make matters worse.
Driving on ice is always more dangerous than driving on pavement. But it’s especially dangerous to drive on ice if you have worn-down tires. Even driving on ice with all-season tires can be challenging, especially if they’re not new. It’s also more dangerous to drive on ice if you don’t have experience. If you’re preparing for your first season of winter driving conditions, before you go too far, find a safe place to practice driving on slippery surfaces, like an empty icy parking lot. This way, you can get a feel for how your vehicle responds to icy sections of road.
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