Driver's education courses place their emphasis on defensive driving techniques, including a chapter on skid correction. For those drivers who have not had the benefit of such training, or haven't yet experienced the sudden loss of control caused by a skid, here are some tips on how to safely steer out of a skidding or hydroplaning situation without total loss of car control.

1. A good offense starts with a good defense. Most conditions that cause skids can be anticipated by an alert driver. If you notice a large pool of standing water on the road ahead of you, slow down instinctively. Water causes oil and other fluids to separate from the road, creating a slicker surface than you might anticipate. Untreated roads covered with snow are obvious dangers, but beware of the ice under the snow even more. A skid created by snow is much more correctable than a skid created by solid ice, so use common sense to avoid the possibility in the first place. If you don't know what the spilled substance on the road is for a certainty, don't drive through it at full speed.

2. Once you feel the first twinges of a skid begin, you may feel like hitting the brakes, but that's the worst thing you can do. The physics of a skid depend on an object's tendency to move in one direction unless acted upon by another object or force. A sudden braking action is all the force needed for a forward slide to turn into a sideways twist. You want the car to still be moving in a forward direction while correcting for a skid. Instead of a sudden, steady brake action, use a series of quick stabbing motions on the brake pedal while you steer the car through the skid. This not only prevents the sudden shift of momentum from forward to sideways, but allows the driver to steer without locking up the brakes.

3. Proper steering is your real key to getting out of a skid safely. Most driving manuals will tell you to 'steer in the opposite direction of the skid'. But how do you determine the direction of the skid while you're in the middle of it? The direction of the skid is the direction your front end is moving in, aided by the back end of your car trying to move forward. If your car is moving to the right, stab your brakes while turning the wheel to the left. Hold the wheel tight and keep the steering wheel pointed out of the skid, no matter what the car may do in the meantime. Once you feel that the car is changing directions, anticipate another skid. Skid correction is a series of smaller and tighter steering maneuvers, not just one turn away from the initial skid. You may have to steer left and right several times before the car becomes controllable. This is especially true when the road surface itself is working against you, like a long patch of ice or spilled oil.

4. Once the car is under control, get your own emotions under control. Pull off the road as soon as possible and do something to calm your nerves. Inspect the car for any permanent damage. Skids are sudden, unexpected incidents, and can be quite unnerving. An emotional driver is an unsafe driver, so give yourself time to recover from such a shock to your sense of confidence as a driver.

5. As an absolute last resort to an unrecoverable skid situation, aim your car to the right and hope that you strike something that will deflect the impact, like a guard rail or soft ground. Dented metal can be fixed, so put your personal safety needs first. By aiming your car to the right, you may prevent a much more serious head-on collision.

The key to successful skid correction is aggressive driving behavior. You didn't ask for this sudden loss of control, but you're the one who's going to change the situation. Pump those brakes and steer back and forth aggressively until your car responds the way you want it to.