In message "No go on ice", H2obxr@aol.com writes:

>Bricks have trouble on glaze ice.
>I took my foot off the
>accelerator so I wouldn't hit the snow full-bore.

Cliff:

Glad nobody was hurt.  A thing to remember when in really slippery 
conditions is NO SUDDEN ACCELERATION.  That also means no sudden 
DE-celerations, either.

Hit the clutch, put the beast in neutral (yes, even in an automatic, maybe 
especially in an automatic), THEN and only then do you take your foot off 
the gas.

If you take your foot off the gas first, the driven wheels slow down so that 
they're not turning at the same speed that the vehicle is moving; a partial 
locking of the wheels, in effect.  The undriven wheels will continue to turn 
at whatever speed they feel like turning at.  In a front wheel drive car, 
the freewheeling back end passes the dragging front end.  In a Brick, the 
center of gravity attempts to lead the vehicle.  Either way, the net result 
is unplanned donuts on the street.

Dave O'Heare
oheare@bnr.ca