NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - I was sitting in the driver's seat of a 340 horsepower Dodge Magnum with its nose between a pair of orange traffic cones in a largely empty football stadium parking lot.

Winter driving • Do you need winter tires? • Do you need ESC?

The assignment was simple. Pretend you're exiting a shopping mall, turning right onto a high-speed road with on-coming traffic. In other words, turn hard and punch it. An added challenge: Covering the asphalt in front of me was a large blue plastic sheet which was being regularly hosed down with water.

For driving purposes, this was a reasonable facsimile of a sheet of ice.

The first time I'd tried this, the powerful wagon had spun almost completely around, leaving me looking back at the place I'd just left.

The second time, with the car's "Electronic Stability Program" switched on, the car's back end swayed just a bit before engine power was automatically reduced and I could hear the brakes momentarily grab on one rear wheel, then the other rear wheel. That slowed the spinning rear wheels, allowing the tires to regain traction. Meanwhile, my right foot never moved off the gas pedal. I barely sensed the momentary loss of control. Then I steered the car through the rest of the turn.

As winter approaches, many drivers have newer cars with computerized systems that can allow them to perform emergency maneuvers few drivers could safely manage otherwise. Or just misjudge a turn on a slippery road without necessarily flying off into the trees.

These systems can help drivers maintain control when they drive faster, or turn harder, than they should. The trick is knowing what these systems can and can't do for you, especially as we approach dangerous winter driving months.

ABS -- Anti-lock brakes are pretty common. These systems pump the brakes rapidly -- so rapidly that, to the driver, it feels like grinding or vibrating -- when sensors detect that wheels are beginning to skid under heavy braking pressure, as in a panic stop.

2005 Dodge Magnum accelerates out of a snow bank during media demonstration.

More advanced systems can even detect when a driver really wants to come to an abrupt stop but isn't pressing the pedal hard enough, perhaps because he doesn't understand that the ABS system can allow him to do that safely.

A well-trained, professional driver can stop a car more quickly than any ABS system can, said Mark Cox, director of the Bridgestone Winter Driving School in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. But no driver, no matter how skilled, can maintain the ability to steer during hard braking, Cox said. That is the real benefit of ABS.

It is also one of the dangers of ABS, though. Since most drivers don't experience anti-lock braking until there's an emergency, they are surprised when they turn the wheel hard while holding down the brake pedal and the car turns instead of skidding.

The result can be a crash, just not the one they were expecting.

AWD or 4WD -- All-wheel drive, a feature that has helped make SUVs popular and which is now available on many cars, can make it easier to get going and keep going in snow. Since engine power is sent to all four wheels, if one or more wheels can't get traction, other wheels can do the job.

Four-wheel drive doesn't make stopping any easier, though. And, especially if the vehicle is an SUV, the extra weight and taller design can make turning more treacherous. In snow, drivers still need to slow down and allow extra stopping distance.

Traction control -- Traction control systems are designed to avoid the car's driving wheels spinning out of control under hard acceleration or on wet or icy pavement. Computers reduce engine power until sensors detect that the wheels have traction again.

This kind of situation can be especially dangerous when trying to turn and accelerate at the same time, as I was doing, in slippery conditions. Like 4-wheel-drive, traction control can allow you to get going safely.

Electronic stability control-- ESC combines traction control and ABS features to keep the vehicle under control when a turn taken too hard threatens to send it into a dangerous slide. Different car companies have different names for these systems. In Chrysler and Dodge vehicles, like the Magnum I was driving, it's called ESP for Electronic Stability Program. As tires begin to lose their grip, brakes are applied separately at individual wheels and engine power is reduced as needed.

For most drivers, especially those who don't live in places with very heavy snowfall, traction control and stability control should be sufficient to handle normal winter driving, said Joe Grace, Chrysler's program manager for the Chrysler 300C and Dodge Magnum. All-wheel drive is an option on those cars.

Asked how technology like this changes the winter driving advice he gives students, Cox replied, "It doesn't alter the advice at all."

Computerized systems like these are designed as a last-ditch safeguard to help prevent a crash. Feeling the anti-lock brakes come on or stability control system tapping brakes means you've just been given a second chance you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Also, these systems can only make the most of whatever traction is available to your tires, so having good winter tires when the going gets touch can still make a huge differece. Click here to read more about the capabilities of modern winter tires.

Anti-lock brakes are one feature that may require some re-learning, Cox said. Maintaining steering control in an emergency is good, but knowing what to do with that control is also important.

"Don't focus on the problem," said Cox. "Focus on the solution."

In other words, don't look at whatever it is you're afraid you're going to crash into. If there's an open lane to the left of the car that has just pulled out in front of you, look there. Where your eyes go, your hands on the steering wheel will take you.

As always, moderate your speed in the snow, especially when approaching a turn. Don't slow down so much as to make yourself a hazard, though, warns Cox. Instead, drive at what you judge to be a safe speed based on traffic flow and conditions.

Even with ABS, stopping in snow requires more distance, so allow more distance when following other vehicles and adjust speed according to the conditions. Don't go so slowly though, that you actually make a hazard of yourself, said Cox.

Try to use only one control at a time. Accelerating while turning or braking while turning means your tires have to deal with forces pulling them in more than one direction at a time, making their job of maintaining traction even harder.

Many experts advise avoiding driving on snow days altogether.

Cox recommends taking the opportunity of a snowy day to practice winter driving skills. An emergency is the wrong time to learn how your car feels on snow and ice, he said. When the snow comes down, he advises, take your car out to safe place with little traffic and try accelerating, turning and stopping. That way, you can learn what your car is and isn't capable of.