Final answer:
A sharply turned steering wheel can cause the rear wheels to slide out, leading to loss of vehicle control. This loss of control occurs due to the centrifugal force experienced during a turn, where friction is necessary to prevent the vehicle from skidding. Reduced friction, like on an icy road, will result in the vehicle following a tangential path off the road.
Step-by-step explanation:
When the driver turns the steering wheel more sharply than expected, causing the rear wheels of the vehicle to slide toward the outside of the turn, this may result in a loss of vehicle control. This situation is often referred to as oversteering, which can lead to a variety of crashes, including over-correction crashes, single vehicle crashes, and preventable crashes. However, the immediate outcome is loss of vehicle control.
As a vehicle undergoes a turn, due to inertia, the body tends to move in a straight line (Newton's first law of motion), whereas the vehicle is trying to follow a curved path. This inconsistency gives rise to what is perceived as centrifugal force, making you feel like you are being pushed away from the center of the turn. If the turn is too sharp or the speed is too high, the rear wheels can lose grip, leading to the vehicle skidding.
The force that usually keeps a vehicle from spinning out is friction between the tires and the road. When a car rounds a curve and encounters a patch of ice, the coefficient of kinetic friction is greatly reduced, causing the car to slide off the road following a tangent to the curved path it was on.
Knowledge of these concepts can help in understanding the dynamics involved in vehicle control and the importance of adjusting speed and steering to maintain control, especially in conditions with reduced friction, such as icy roads.