Strange incident with Esteem

[esteemer]

Straight to the point: On the 18th, We were on our way to Ahmedabad in our Esteem. NH 8A being quite good , we were cruising at speeds ranging from 90 to 120. Then came a small turn which was very much like the other hundreds of turns the car had taken. But , this time , it didn't turn. As my father slowed down the car for the turn, the car went out of control and skidded . It stopped in the middle of the divider at an angle of about 30 degree as one side of the highway is elevated a bit.Fortunately the guard rails of the divider were already broken, the car didn't suffer from severe damage.Even more fortunate, there were no other cars nearby, which could have proven even more fatal. About ten people on the same route stopped immediately and helped bring the car on the road.
On reaching Ahmedabad, we got the car checked and only damages were a slightly cut bumper and a minute underbody damage. At the end of the day, I would like to ask :
1. Why did the car skid and not turn, was it due to the wheels locking up? If so, why/
2. Is there some way such incidents can be prevented from happening again?
Thanx in advance, guys.

[dadu]

Did he loose steering control/ steering became hard to turn ??

Did he use too much pressure on the brake to make the esteem skid ??

[esteemer]

No, he says that neither there had been any problem with the steering and nor the brakes which he had not pressed hard.

[Technocrat]

it looks like you guys were taking the turn faster than it should have, have seen this happening on highways with people. So basically the brakes logged as instinctively he must increased the pressure on brake as he realized that the speed is high for the turn.

[nikkibike]

this is a scary incident! Anyways, get the brake system checked. Front disc brakes are prone to stuck if the car is not used once in a week atleast. In this case i guess one of the calipers jammed causing the car to skid!

Another area is powersteering system. Get it thoroughly checked incase the car has PS!!

[HappyWheels]

As Nikki said, I reckon it might be the brakes. Please do get them checked! (Unless, ofcourse, you dad was taking the turn too fast, which I do not think so).

[spadival]

Are the tyres on the car stock? Most stock tyres simply loose their grip on the tarmac if a turn is taken at speeds exceeding even 80kmph.

[Jeep]

Seems it's the tyres. May be they have very less tread left on them.

[esteem_lover]

I think it is more of a case of misjudgement in speed on the turn, can happen when you are not concentrating on the driving.

[esteemer]

No, the car and the wheels are not even an year old, and yes, it may have been due to speed, but the car had taken many turns at greater speeds just seconds earlier. BTW< the turning speed ws 90 to 100 kmph

[linuxtechie]

Repeating other, but still feel its high speed + brake locking. Had happened once with me, then I had lowered the gear, the car screamed like anything, my family got scared, but then it had slowed down. Later calmed by family that if had I applied the brakes, I literally had no control. Then on ward I always lower the gears/slow down near a turn.

~LT

[vkochar]

That is one scary experience. Speak to an expert about this and see what they say. I have no clue why such a thing should happen.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by spadival

Are the tyres on the car stock? Most stock tyres simply loose their grip on the tarmac if a turn is taken at speeds exceeding even 80kmph.

AND

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I think it is more of a case of misjudgment in speed on the turn, can happen when you are not concentrating on the driving.

Is the usual recipe for such an incident. Not to worry and am glad you chaps came thru unscathed.

[rks]

Originally Posted by esteemer

As my father slowed down the car for the turn, the car went out of control and skidded . It stopped in the middle of the divider at an angle of about 30 degree as one side of the highway is elevated a bit.

1. Why did the car skid and not turn, was it due to the wheels locking up? If so, why/
2. Is there some way such incidents can be prevented from happening again?

From your description above, the car skidded as your father slowed down the car for the turn, i.e., as he pressed the brake. Now the question is whether your car oversteered or understeered. Usually it is not advisable to brake exactly at the moment the car is taking the turn because the braking will transfer weight from rear wheels to front, possibly causing the rear to lose grip. This is oversteer and usually does not happen with front wiheel drive cars. Second possbility is understeer, i.e., your car failed to turn as required because of front tyres losing grip (e.g. did front wheels lock up during braking). Which of these happened in your case? Your dad should be able to answer this.

If tyres/tyre pressures are OK, then the problem can happen because of excessive speed or due to some bad patch on the road (combined with braking around the turn). Or else there could be some problem with the suspension.

[esteemer]

rks, the second option you gave that is, understeer due to front wheels locking up seems to be the most probable reason.And the tire pressure had been checked some days before the journey and the people at kataria, ahmedabad also said tire pressure was okay.

BTW, thank you all again for your quick replies. The car has been checked by the insurance company official. The damagas are, the bonnet doesn't close properly, the front buper has to be changed and the underbody damage has to be repaired. The car will go for the repairs day after tomorrow.

I wanted to ask, can wider tires be a solution to such a problem?