learn about cars

" Survive a Rear-End Collision First, pull your seatbelt taut. Next, release your foot from the brake and put the car in neutral. This will help distribute the force and may prevent you from being rear-ended twice, which can happen if you're applying the brakes after being hit and the car behind you is still moving forward. 17. Get Unstuck If your tires have sunk into mud, snow, or sand, driver Cameron Steele, a Baja 1000 winner, says to lower the tire pressure way down—as low as 5 or 6—and dig out space in front of the tires to give yourself a run. ""If you still don't get traction, put down some pieces of carpet,"" he says. ""But always put a leash on what you use for traction—say 50 feet long—and tie it to your bumper so you don't have to run back into the mud or gunk to pick up the pieces."" 18. Survive a Water Landing Almost all cars have electronic windows that short out when they come in contact with water. So invest in a center punch, a device shaped like a screwdriver but with a sharp center point. It makes breaking a window a cinch. Store it in your center console or glove box—not your trunk. 19. Maneuver Tight Corners At the BMW Performance Driving School, instructor Jim Clark says these four words over and over: ""Slow in, fast out."" When taking a corner, you need to scrub as much of that speed as you can while the car is braking in a straight line, then you can accelerate out of the curve. The converse is ""Fast in, maybe no out.""20. Add Trees to "