If you're an adult of a certain age, you might remember when trendy shoe stores had their very own X-ray machines. You could stand on one of these high-tech pads, have a picture taken of your feet, and see how your shoes fit, right down to the bones.

Of course, that was long ago, when everyone believed that X-rays were completely benign. Now we know better, and "harmless X-rays" rank alongside "healthful cigarettes" as ideas that seemed to make sense at the time but eventually needed rethinking and revision.

Winter driving safety has undergone a similar evolution. What you learned about driving on snow and ice from your parents or in driver's ed might not reflect current thinking. In fact, today's vehicles might have rendered some of those lessons obsolete.

"You're not driving your father's or grandfather's car," says Frank Niland, instructor in the Club's Driver Improvement Program, "so why should you drive it like your father or grandfather?" Compare the following "old-school" methods to "new-school" counterparts--what experts now consider best practices for winter roads.

Old School: Prepare yourself for slippery roads by gripping the steering wheel firmly at 9 and 3 o'clock.

New School: For better control, place your hands at 8 and 4 o'clock.

Gripping the wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock encourages "hand-over-hand" steering--an old-school technique still taught in some driver's ed classes. Making a right turn, for example, you'd push up the wheel with your left hand, release your right-hand grip, bring your right hand across your left forearm, and re-grab the wheel with your right to pull it around the turn.

But the hand-over-hand technique
creates a couple of problems on newer vehicles. For one thing, it forces you to cross your forearms directly in front of the airbag--where they'd hit you in the face if the bag deployed in a collision during the turn. But, more important in slippery winter conditions, "hand-over-hand steering increases the lateral transfer of weight in the vehicle," says Niland. That weight transfer increases instability and the likelihood of a skid during a turn.

Placing your hands at 8 and 4 o'clock, however, encourages the "push-pull-slide" steering technique. To turn right, for example, your left hand pushes the wheel up; your right hand slides up to 2 or 3 o'clock and then pulls the wheel down, while your left slides back down to 8 o'clock. As Niland explains, "This technique reduces the side-to-side transfer of weight and also reduces the potential for lifting the two outside wheels off the pavement."

You can see the improvement for yourself. In an empty parking lot, have a passenger put a pencil on your dashboard, pointing at a 90-degree angle to the windshield. Execute a turn using the push-pull-slide method and another using hand-over-hand. You'll find that the pencil rolls far less in the former maneuver. You'll also notice that the steering-wheel spokes on most newer cars leave convenient spaces at 8 and 4 o'clock--an ergonomic touch encouraging the improved technique.

Old School: Never, ever shift the transmission into "Neutral." Your car must always stay in gear.

New School: To slow the car during a skid without braking or to improve braking on ice, take the car out of gear.

In driver's ed, you probably learned that most states have laws prohibiting coasting or leaving your car out of gear on a public roadway. Emergencies trump those provisions, however. To maintain control on an icy hill, for example, experts recommend taking the car out of gear--either by stepping on the clutch with a manual transmission or shifting to "N" with an automatic.

Why? Even with your foot off the gas, the two wheels on the drive axle of your car have residual turning force. Disengaging the transmission removes the force from all wheels. On a slippery downgrade, that allows the brakes to affect all four wheels equally.

Similar advice holds for a skid--if you have the presence of mind and skill with the shifter. Easing off the gas and slipping the transmission into Neutral will probably allow you to regain control without using the brakes.

"Look and steer in the direction you want the car to go," advises Niland. "Do everything slowly and gradually. If you overreact or steer too fast, you could send the vehicle into a skid in the opposite direction."

Shifting to N may require a little practice with some automatic transmissions. If you have a center-console-mounted shift lever, avoid pushing the lock button with your thumb as you move it. That guards against pushing the lever too far forward into Reverse.

Old School: Pump the brakes to improve stopping distances or restore control on slippery surfaces.

New School: Squeeze the brakes with your toes to maximize stopping power and maintain control.

About 60 percent of all new cars sold in the United States have anti-lock braking system (ABS) technology that renders pumping obsolete. Steady, firm pressure on the pedal will reduce your speed and still allow you to maintain steering control.

Even if your car doesn't have ABS, the technique known as "threshold braking" will prevent lock-up and let you steer clear of trouble. With your heel on the floor, squeeze the brake pedal gently with your toes. When you feel the wheels begin to lock, ease off the pressure just a bit and hold it there.

Old School: You can't detect "black ice" until it's too late.

New School: Detect black ice by watching the spray on your windshield.

So-called "black ice" forms on wet pavement when the temperature drops to freezing and the salt trucks haven't yet treated the road. During the day, runoff from melting snow may form black ice under bridges or in other shady spots. At night, it may form during drizzle or other damp conditions when the pavement reaches freezing temperatures before the layer of air just above it. Black ice presents a particularly insidious threat, because at night you can't distinguish it from simply wet pavement.

Experienced truckers, however, have learned to detect black ice formed in nighttime drizzles by paying attention to the frequency with which they need their wipers. In wet weather, when you notice no fine spray thrown up on your windshield from the tires ahead, you can assume that the surface temperature has reached freezing.

In hazardous conditions more obvious than black ice--rain, slush and snow, for instance--you can improve traction by driving in the tracks of the vehicle ahead of you. They're slightly drier than the surrounding pavement.

Editor's note: AAA offers a newly updated brochure, "Get a Grip," with more tips for winter driving and upkeep. You can get a free copy by visiting any Club office or by calling 516/873-2364.