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QUESTION:As my dictionaries do not help either, one possibility that occurs to me is
that it could be a tracked vehicle, agricultural or otherwise, which is
steered by braking either of its tracks. For such a vehicle to turn left, for
instance, the left track is braked and the right track continues to be driven,
causing the left track to skid around until the brake is released.
A further possibility relates to cars. A competition car may sometimes be
steered by having its rear wheels locked in a controlled manner whilst the
car is turning, so that the rear of the car slides and increases the rate at
which the vehicle turns into the corner. This is, I believe, known as a "skid
turn".
The context within which this question arises might help. Perhaps Bertel
could tell us.
ANSWER: Most vehicles are front-steer; the front wheels do the steering.
A few specialized ones, e.g., lift trucks, are rear-steer.
Fully tracked vehicles (tanks, bulldozers) can't be either, obviously.
They change direction by making the left track move at a
different speed than the right one, meaning that one of them is
necessarily skidding, making them "skidsteer" vehicles.
This can be the case on a wheeled vehicle as well; the front and back
left wheels turn faster than the right to make a right (foward) turn.
The advantage of skidsteering is that the wheels can bear more weight
(a wheel assembly is weaker if it has to steer as well as carry)
and it reduces the turn circle (by making left and right go opposite ways
the thing can rotate in its own length).
The disadvantage is that the skidding wears the tires and the ground,
so you see skidsteering in off-road vehicles only.
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