I was looking over the rules of the original pocket box game last night and was surprised to note that the vehicles get their Handling Tracks reset to full at the end of each turn/second.  I thought this was a new thing that came out in the 5th edition, but this "new" thing is really just the "old" thing!  In the original game, the only thing Driver skill got you was a bonus on your reflex roll.

Back in the day, we always played by the Deluxe edition rule that your Handling track was adjusted upward at the end of the turn by the total amount of your HC plus your driver skill.  In the Compendium, this rule was again changed and the bonus for driver skill was subtracted from crash table rolls.  Apparently all versions of Car Wars reset the Handling tracks to full at the end of the turn EXCEPT for Scott Haring's Deluxe edition rules. 

I'll double check this later-- the rules on handling are spread out to at least two different sections in each edition, so it's hard to pin this sort of thing down in just a cursory look.  Whichever version of Car Wars you're playing, be sure to go over this rule carefully.  Each edition of the game has subtle differences and everyone may have a different notion about how the driver skill is supposed to work!