[Swizec]

> You can also take lessons...

In my part of Europe (Slovenia) they now make you take a “safety driving” course within 2 years of getting your license. Skid plates, hydroplaning, all the fun stuff.

My sister got to do it. I missed the fun by a few years and instead practiced with lots of late night drifting fun on fresh snow (don’t tell mom :P)

[atoav]

Same in Austria. It is so helpful to learn how to handle a (your) car in extreme situations, before having to encounter these in the wild.

I loved the skid plates — for those who don't know: this is basically a "moving floor" that yerks your rear wheels randomly left or right when you drive over it. This happens right before a wet section of track and depending on the speed you have while going over it recovering can be quite a challenge.

My car did not have ABS, so I had a lot of fun doing this.

[marssaxman]

> for those who don't know: this is basically a "moving floor"

Thank you for this explanation! There is a completely different kind of device called a "skid plate" in the context of 4x4 off-road driving, so I was imagining some gnarly things must be happening in this "safety driving" course!

[mikestew]

At my U. S. high school back in the early 80s, we'd take our cars out in the parking lot after a fresh Indiana snow and do "doughnuts" (whip your car around in tight circles while on the gas). We did it after school, after the parking lot had mostly cleared out (and it's rural America, the parking lot was way bigger than needed). The principal/head master/whatever-you-call-it-in-your-country stated that he did not care, as it gave kids a safe environment to learn. And in Indiana, you better learn to drive on snow.

That school principal was cool in a lot of ways like that. He'd never keep his job these days.