A few words about extreme driving

Extreme driving – is a way of driving that maximises the ability to get out of difficult and life-threatening situations. For professional competitors in a variety of rallies, drifts, formulas and slaloms, extreme driving – a way of life and a subject of constant learning in practice.

For the general public – it's another great opportunity to improve their driving skills.

There are a number of extreme driving techniques. Some of them are known to the general public, others are known only in professional racing circles. Here's a closer look at the ones you've probably already heard of.

There are a number of extreme driving techniques that are known to the general public.

1. Traditional snake or high-speed manoeuvring. This is a shaped manoeuvre at considerable speed. Thanks to it, the dimensions of the car are fully appreciated and the driver adapts to them as if they were his own. If you perform a snake for a while, and even in the rhythm of the competition, the adrenaline is provided. Only correctly calculate the trajectory on which you will «go» and correctly accelerate.

2. Emergency braking. For the most part, drivers use comfort braking, the so-called regular kind, to stop their car. Emergency braking in its essence is the ability to extinguish the speed of transport for the minimum distance (number of metres) and time. And it is not only the brake pedal that helps, but also the additional loading of the car on the sides and axles.

3. Emergency acceleration. It is advisable to use it only when there is a danger to life, as it is not a favourable manoeuvre for the car itself. To perform emergency acceleration, engage a lower gear to provide power with maximum traction. When the front wheels start to slip and the engine has reached maximum revs, shift to second or higher gears. Emergency acceleration is possible when initially driving in any gear, you just need to engage the clutch and maximum gear quite sharply.

4. Police U-turn. A beautiful manoeuvre (which everyone has seen in Hollywood films) that allows the driver to change the trajectory of the car in a few seconds. To perform it, push the accelerator pedal to the floor, so that the car moved at maximum speed in reverse. After that we throw out the gearbox lever in neutral, turn the steering wheel to the right or left as far as it will go, and in the meantime, while the car slides around the rear axle, put the lever in first gear, straighten the steering wheel and press the accelerator pedal, so that the car starts to move forward.

It all sounds complicated and there's a lot of text written. A practised manoeuvre takes up to five seconds. Its quality, accuracy and speed depend on the engine power, gearbox type, the accuracy of its handle (lever) and the steering system of your car model.

The comfort and ergonomics of the interior design are important, as is your driving experience so that your hand is intuitive on the gear lever and you don't miss a gearshift.

And your driving experience is also important.

5. Figured Looking Glass. This is reversing not in a straight line, bypassing obstacles, essentially a move that often accompanies our realities. Very useful, in practical terms, a manoeuvre that will help to learn how to easily bypass as populo parked cars or intricate architectural intricacies in yards. Note at once, that, habitual earlier, the way to sit in a half-turn and steer with one hand – not an option. For performance of this manoeuvre it will be necessary to tighten skill to orient on mirrors. With a little practice, you'll lose the urge to turn back at all.

6. Controlled skid. This is a technique for stabilising a vehicle through reflexive inaction. It is categorised for front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicles. In each of these cases, the technique of entering and exiting a controlled skid is different. Determine what kind of drive your car has, and knowing how to create a skid and then safely and beautifully steer your car out of it will definitely not be superfluous.

Extreme driving training is not just about knowing how to perform a few interesting manoeuvres. It's the skill to turn the car to any predetermined angle. It is the skill to change direction or vice versa, to move continuously stable in a controlled skid. This is the ability to perform various sliding figures with turns in front or in reverse. It is movement on an arc, high-speed passing of a complex of turns, racing starts, many kinds of sliding and braking (side slipping, demolition of all wheels, combined), parking on the oncoming roadside with a handbrake and many other things. All of these are separate steps in learning advanced driving skills and separate techniques for piloting a car.

All of these are separate steps in learning advanced driving skills and separate techniques for piloting a car.

You can learn extreme driving at driving schools that offer such a training programme. Or with a personal instructor. In the latter case, make sure they're competent.

How to learn extreme driving can be done at driving schools that offer such a programme.

Practise only so much before your brakes get tired of begging for mercy. Learn to control your car; your safety always depends on this skill, in the end. Have a safe journey! And don't forget to check out the full range of workshop equipment in our catalogue.