Terms You Should Know About Driving

4WD

Four wheel drive

ABS

Anti-lock Braking System

Acceleration

An increase in speed.

AWD

All Wheel Drive

Brain Fade

Not paying attention to what you are doing. Spacing out.

Downshift

Putting the transmission into a lower gear so the engine will turn faster at the same road speed.

Driver's Left

The left side.

Driver's Right

The right side.

FWD

Front-wheel-drive

Horsepower

A measure of energy per unit of time, equal to 745.7 watts.

Lateral Acceleration

A measurement of how fast something is going around a turn.

Lockup

When the brakes are applied so hard that the wheels stop turning. Anti-lock brakes protect against this.

Oversteer

When the rear end of the car loses traction and the car turns more than it should.

RWD

Rear-wheel-drive

RPM

Revolutions per minute, a measurement of engine speed.

Skid

When the car is moving, but the tires are not rolling in the direction of travel. The brakes could be locked up, or the car could be not facing the direction it is heading (oversteer), or the front wheels are turned but the car is still going straight (understeer).

Understeer

When the front end of the car loses traction so the car turns less than it should.

Upshift

Shifting the car into a higher gear so that the engine will turn slower at the same road speed.