Skid pan training is all about learning how to control and correct the car in the event of a skid, i.e when your tyres lose traction for whatever reason. It could be oil on the road, black ice, snow or standing water that makes you skid. When it happens, the front or rear end of you car moves out and you slide. A skid pan experience will teach you how to recognise what type of skid you're in (front/understeer or rear/oversteer) and how to get out of it safely.

A skid pan is a concrete tarmac area set aside for skidding. Some operators use cars that sit in hydraulic cradles to simulate a sliding car. Other schools put water or a product on the surface of the pan to make it really slippy and use cars with slick tyres on to help initiate skids more easily.

Most locations offering skid pan in the UK use a variety of car set ups to simulate different types of skids. That's to say both front wheel drive and rear wheel drive cars, as they react in different ways when traction is lost.

On these fun taster experiences you can't use your own car. However, some of the schools we use might offer continued training that is possible in your own vehicle.

Yes! With ABS your car will react differently when in a skidding situation - and this is often covered in these introductory skid pan training lessons. It's the same with other onboard driver aids; you still need to know how the car will react. And it's still incredibly useful to know how to avoid skids in the first place, in order to make you a better driver!

Actually, no. If the school uses cars in cradles, that's how the wet surface is simulated. If a wet skid pan is used, the operator has a special formula they put down to wet the surface and get you sliding.

Although many of our skid control sessions take place at professional driver schools who teach people who work in serious roles such as the fire and rescue services, ambulance drivers and even the police how to drive, the emphasis on these experiences is very much fun, whilst being informative. So yes, you'll have fun and learn a skill that could save your life and avoid damaging your car at the same time!

Skid control schools offer a mix of one to one and small group lessons, so check with each individual supplier. And remember, if it's small groups and you get a few of you together, you can have the teaching time exclusively to your group on the pan.

It's completely normal to feel nervous before your skid pan session. You don't normally deliberately try and skid a car, so it's just a little bit of fear of the unknown. Once you're out there, the tutors are great and you'll soon get into the lesson. Before you know it, you'll be building up your confidence; initiating and controlling skids are increasing speeds. You'll be impressed with yourself by the end!

Yes, it certainly can be if you skid on the pubic roads. But these skid control courses all take place on skid pans at private driving centres around the country. That means you can learn how to skid in a safe and controlled environment, with experts teaching you.

We've got skid control lessons at selected centres around the UK for you:

• York
• Wiltshire