What is oversteer?

Oversteer is one of two ways your car can skid out during a corner, and is the opposite of understeer. Oversteer is when the tyres on your car's rear axle lose grip and the G-forces push the rear of the car towards the outside of the corner. This can happen if you drive around a corner too fast, or by accelerating too hard while cornering in a rear-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive car.

If your car oversteers, you should try to quickly countersteer, aiming to keep the car going in the direction you're pointing the steering wheel. At the same time, you should ease off the accelerator to help the rear tyres regain traction. Try to avoid braking until you've got the car back under control – panic braking can actually exacerbate an oversteer situation and lead to you spinning out completely.