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Show Beautiful Autumn, Get Ready For Winter with Automobile panic when your car started to skid on a curve? According to Barlow, that's a power skid --the --the result of accelerating too fast for road conditions. The power applied to the wheels is more than the ability of the tire tread to grip the road, and as a result, they spin; and when a tire is spinning, it has no friction to keep the wheels from skidding sideways. Unless the skid is too severe, a power skid can be controlled by simply easing up on the gas pedal. If conditions or speed are such that this isn't enough, then the old trick of steering in the direction of the skid may solve the problem. On ice, however, you cannot expect instant response. If your speed is high enough, there may be no time left for correcting a skid. A spinout on a curve is a very difficult skid to control, even on dry roads. Keeping the car on the road and pointed in the right direction may be the best you can hope for. If the car cannot be kept on the road, try and aim for a clear spot where you can come to a stop without hitting anything solid. The Council President suggests, adjust your speed and stopping distances so the problems never occur. The term is, "moderation in all things," and this certainly applies to driving. Autumn is especially beautiful in Utah this year with the fresh green of the grass providing unexpected contrast to the brilliant coloring of the leaves. Crisp sunny weekends have made the annual task of putting up storm windows much easier to bear and the problem of raking fallen leaves has just begun. Snow has already fallen in some places, and we can expect our annual mass of crumpled cars when our first snow arrives. . Wise motorists are already getting their cars winterized for the cold weather ahead, and the wisest of them all are preparing to winterize their driving habits as well. Leo H. Barlow, President of the Utah Safety Council, predicts the first cold night we'll see long lines of laden motorists at filling ' stations trying to get anti-freeze for their radiators. The first really cold morning we'll see stalled vehicles by the thousands across the state because their owners neglected to get them ready for winter. According to Barlow, failure to adjust for winter driving will create the same added work load for the body shops, and in some instances, the hospital emergency rooms. The driving habits we ve used all summer just won't make it in the winter. As an example, take stopping distance. The first snowfall we'll see a rash of rear-end collisions in city traffic- many of them involving in-volving several cars and several hundred dollars damage to each vehicle. Small children sitting or standing on the seats of these cars could be thrown violently against the car's interior at whatever speed the car was traveling when it suddenly came to a stop. Adults will suffer neck injuries, facial bruises and cuts, and probably some of the occupants will be hospitalized, and will happen again and again simply because somewhere in each of these collisions is a driver who still thinks he can stop as quickly as he could on dry pavement. One of these mornings you'll start your car and enter the traffic flow, and in seconds the windshield will be fogged because you have neglected to warm up the car interior just a little bit before starting to move. Remember what it was like the last time that happened to you -- the panic of realizing you didn't know whether the car ahead was still moving or if you were still straight and not into the oncoming traffic. Think about the time you used the windshield wind-shield washers to clear the windshield and the liquid froze on the glass because you neglected to put an anti-freeze solution in your reservoir tank. Barlow asks that you remember the time you had the helpless feeling of turning the steering wheel and having the car go straight ahead or applying the brakes and being convinced the car was actually going faster. There are just a few of the unpleasant things that can happen if we are not prepared for winter driving. It's not the same as summer driving, and we have to keep reminding ourselves until we adjust to winter needs, and winter needs can change rapidly without warning. Have you ever stepped on the gas and had the rear end of the car skid around and slam into the car next to yours or known the moment of |