My office is abuzz this morning with the following video of a driver ditching her car as it begins to slide on ice.
In the interest of full disclosure I should say that I don't know where this video originated (although it is the UK, since the driver is on the righthand side of the car) and it is, possibly, a prank. However, it's been great listening to my colleagues debate the merit of these drivers' decision to jump out of the car.
"She needs to use her hand brake," one said.
"Jumping out is stupid because your doors could get ripped off," said another.
A quick search reveals lots of dangerous winter driver videos on YouTube, such as this one, which reminds us all to be very,very careful indeed, especially on snowy, icy, hilly English roads that haven't been gritted!
I lived for twelve years in Kansas, USA where there is often a lot more ice than snow during the winter. The passengers in this car would have been much safer staying INSIDE their car. If there had been other cars sliding too, they could have been hit.
Basically, when you start to slide on ice, you should stay OFF the brakes, turn with the slide, and "enjoy" the ride. It's also a good idea to put some weight in the back of small vehicles, carry around a couple of cinder blocks in the trunk.