Anderson Injury Lawyers | November 5, 2025 | Car Accidents
When a motor vehicle begins to skid, it can be a frightening experience that happens in just seconds. Whether caused by wet roads, ice, or sudden braking, knowing how to react quickly can make all the difference in preventing an accident. The right response depends on the type of skid and how your vehicle is moving.
Understanding what to do—and what not to do—can help you regain control safely. Keep reading to learn the first steps you should take when your car starts to skid.
What Is Skidding And What Can Cause It?
Skidding happens when your tires lose traction and slide across the road. The ultimate cause is a difference between the direction in which your tires are pointing and the direction in which your vehicle is moving.
This can result from a few factors, including:
- Excessive speeding that reduces the available friction for braking, accelerating, and turning
- Abrupt steering wheel movements that cause the tires to lose grip
- Harsh braking that locks the wheels, preventing them from rolling and causing them to slide
- Sudden acceleration that causes the wheels to spin and lose traction
- Slippery road conditions that decrease the friction between the tires and the road surface, and cause car fishtailing
- Worn or improperly inflated tires that lead to a loss of traction
Unfortunately, skid-related accidents can lead to life-altering physical and mental damage, as highlighted by the fact that road injuries are the second most common cause of traumatic brain injuries worldwide.
A Step-By-Step Guide for How to Handle Skidding
A skidding vehicle can be a scary experience. Here’s how you can navigate it as safely as possible.
Step 1: Stay Calm and Avoid Sudden Moves
A skidding vehicle is likely to cause panic, which is why many drivers instinctively press hard on the brakes or oversteer to try to avoid danger and direct the car toward a safe spot. This can actually work against you, as sudden movements worsen the skid. Instead, it’s best to remain calm.
Step 2: Ease Off the Pedals
If your vehicle begins to skid, slowly release your foot from both the gas and brake pedals. Pressing aggressively on either is likely to lead to a loss of control and could result in a car accident.
Step 3: Steer Into the Skid
A skid occurs when your car’s tires and the direction of the vehicle diverge. To correct a skid and keep it from getting worse, gently steer in the direction the rear of the car is sliding. As the car begins to correct its path, slowly and steadily straighten the steering wheel.
Step 4: Straighten the Wheels and Regain Control
Using small, smooth adjustments, turn the wheel back to your desired path so that it doesn’t skid in the opposite direction. Once the car is stable, you can slowly press the brake to slow the car down and eventually bring it to a complete stop.
Contact the Fort Worth Car Accident Attorneys at Anderson Injury Lawyers for Help Today
No matter how well a driver can steer themselves out of a skid, some accidents are simply unavoidable. Still, it isn’t always clear who is at fault. In some cases, it could be a defective tire or brake manufacturing at fault. In others, it may be a design flaw in the car or the human error of another driver.
Either way, an experienced Fort Worth car accident lawyer can help you figure out who is at fault for your injuries and what the best next step is to pursue recovery for any damages. Anderson Injury Lawyers can help get you the compensation you deserve after an accident. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Fort Worth, Dallas, or Austin and need legal help, contact our personal injury lawyers at Anderson Injury Lawyers to schedule a free consultation. We proudly serve Tarrant County, Dallas County, and throughout Texas.
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