Getting to Knoooow, yooou, getting to know aaaall abooout you…
I lost the back wheels on a front wheel drive car for the first time ever. I’m used to sliding the front on wet roundabouts from my mini-driving days but I didn’t think I was pushing it that hard. It was one of those infamous first-wet-days-after-a-hot-spell, when the oily deposits have been built up, then brought to the surface by the rain. Hit the empty roundabout braking slightly, slightly off line due to a big piece of bus-lane in the middle of the entry road. Got to the tightest part of the turn and the front wheels slid. I thought that was a bit unexpected, but experience kicked in and I backed off the controls to let the speed drop and the wheels get a grip again. Then the back started to drift out. I can distinctly remember an incredulous inner voice saying “It’s the back?!” and beginning to wonder how the hell that was happening. As I got to “the”, the front wheels found their purchase and the back began a rather slick overtaking manoeuvre. So I start winching the wheel into opposite lock, but it’s too late, the back has taken the initiative and I am now only able to admire the council’s plantings on the central reservation as the car proceeds, perfectly in the right direction, but sideways. As I hit 180 degrees, the front wheels’ position formerly know as opposite-lock, now encourages the car to continue spinning. I actually briefly consider giving it a boot to go for the full 360 but I am feeling a bit close to the kerbs at this point, so I dip the clutch and brake gently to eventually come to rest parked in the correct exit road, facing the kerb, with the car in reverse and the wheels in the right place to finish the manoevre. So I let out the clutch and continue on my way. It’s a funny mix of being glad/hopeful that there were no witnesses and wishing there had a least been a man walking a dog nearby so I could get out and go “did you see that!!”. Ho hum. This probably has bearing on whether or not I ought to buy a high-powered sports car…