🚀 go-pugleaf

Want to stay alive during what looks like is going to be an accident,
then don't panic!!!! Train yourself not to panic. THINK! Prepare by
reading all the driving books on what to do in various circumstances.

And to overcome panic, one has to fight fear and let common sense take
over.

Example: one lady was killed a few years ago. Her "motherly" instinct
cause her to "panic" when she heard her baby screaming in the back
seat (a bee had stung the baby). She turned long enough to "rescue"
her baby, and with that had an accident occurred in which she was
killed (the baby lived).

Example: You are sliding in the snow sideways, and you apply your
brakes in a panic and the car slides even more. Our instincts tell us
to hit the brakes, but on snow and ice this just does not usually
work. If the road ahead is clear, then it will actually be better to
accelerate very, very moderately, just enough to regain control and
"steer" out of the slide. This works because in order for tires to
have traction, they must be spinning in the snow, otherwise they are
not going to steer the car. However, too much acceleration can be
equally bad, and if there is no place ahead on the road, then
acceleration is not going to work. However, if you have ABS, this may
help, but if you don't rapid and gentle tapping of the brakes can get
you speed down and while maintaining some semblance of steering
control.

Example: you are afraid of the snow and drive very slowly, but then
you wonder why you get stuck going up the hill. Depending on the size
and steepness of a hill, a "running starting" will give the car the
momentum to make the hill with the minimum of slippage of the tires.
The greatest slippage under acceleration and heavy load always happens
at the lowest speeds, contrary to some beliefs. But practicing this
technique is required, and is best done on an empty road.

Example: traffic ahead is stopped suddenly, the ditch or even a
telephone pole is a better object to hit than swinging to the left,
possibly into oncoming traffic. If you are going 40 in a 40 zone, then
the impact of a head-on could be 80 mph combined. But if you hit the
pole at 40, it is a very survivable accident, provided you are wearing
a seat belt. So panic might scare us into what looks like the open
road, but all the driving books teach us to swerve right, if we must
swerve at all, and its mainly for this reason.