Winter surprised motorists on Tuesday, December 7, 2021. The patches of ice formed on several roadways and caused a lot of disturbance on the roads of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nearly sixty interventions by firefighters in the North for accidents, 31 in Pas-de-Calais (five times more than usual), including a fatal accident in Villeneuve d’Ascq.
Even the Lille University Hospital warns about “an upsurge in the number of adult emergency room admissions following falls or car accidents“, in a press release on Tuesday. To face the winter and its difficult traffic conditions, a driving center offers training for all drivers by putting them in risky situations to test their reflexes and habits.
An unexpected spin
In Dourges (Pas-de-Calais), the Centaure center generally receives 4,000 people per year, sent mainly by their companies but also a few individuals. With three circuits, they condition drivers on water-sprayed tracks, curves, false flats and straight lines. All suitable for sliding, like on ice.
– Theo Boscher
When I get in the car, Sébastien Joly, one of the trainers, explains the conditions in which I get behind the wheel. “It’s a car without ABS at 30 km / h, with slick rear tires and water on the road, normal grip is reduced by 40%. It is as if we were driving on a road with ice at 80 km / h.“
For the exercise, I have to go up to 30 km / h for about fifty meters, then I have to overtake an obstacle in front of me and fall back on the main track. Without really knowing what to expect, I pick up speed, I arrive on the wet track. I put myself in the left lane to avoid the obstacle. I fall back, and that’s where I feel the car rocking and even spinning completely. Unpleasant feeling, I pile. The car stalls.
Beware of known routes
“I knew you would be surprised, I let you do it, Sébastien smiles. But it happens to a lot of people.“Centaur also welcomes”Sunday drivers” than “confirmed drivers“and everyone is fooled: slips, loss of control, emergency braking. So many reactions that it is better to have in training on these adapted tracks than on the road when going to work.
“We are not too suspicious of the routes we know well, explains the trainer. Especially home-work trips which are the most accident-prone. “ His advice for avoiding mess tins : look into the distance and not the obstacle to avoid, increase the safety distance with the vehicle in front and reduce the speed of movement during the winter from 5 to 10 km / h.
Always stay focused
Another tip to try to regain control of the vehicle during emergency braking: you have to try to gently release the brake pedal to recover some maneuvering of the steering wheel.
You don’t have to believe yourself invincible with all the assistance present in modern cars. “Very often, trainees with us think that the car will catch up on the trajectory by itself, notes Didier Richard, head of the Centaure center. But we show them that on our exercise platforms, they experience good moments of solitude.“
Generally, trainees emerge from this training much more attentive to the risks they may encounter on the road and also more picky about the behavior of other motorists.