Soulteacher

If you see a collision or some other traffic issues ahead of you, the instinct is typically to slow down as much as possible and to possibly stop far away from it. However, the slower your car, the more limited your maneuverability; therefore - as long as you are not certain if the cars behind you will be able to stop in time (especially large trucks) - it's better to somewhat keep moving and to possibly use your motion to accelerate to the side and out of the way (off the road, if you have to).

ChipAZ

Like I tell my kids, always be aware of what is going on behind you. If traffic stops fast look in your rear view mirror and look at the driver's face. If he is reading a book, try to get out of his way. Same thing with drivers that pull up to a stop sign. If he doesn't look at you one should start slowing down and plan an escape route.

To many drive around on "auto pilot" and it helps to identify those drivers before they hit you.

discoganya

Here are some rules I follow:

1. When coming to a stop on a freeway, always tap the brake pedal thus flashing the brake lights. Stop at the edge of the shoulder (either left or right), leaving a fair bit of your lane for someone to maneuver around you. And stop at least 2-3 car lengths before the next car, giving yourself a margin for the erratic car behind you.

2. When you see a motorcycle behind you, move over and give him/her half of your lane to pass. Do NOT block them.

3. When taking an on-ramp, don't lift off the gas and swerve your ***. On a cold morning, drive slow till the tyres are warm.

4. Avoid being followed by a giant SUV or truck at night. Our cars sit so low that I have trouble looking into the rear view mirror with elephant SUV lights shining on me.

5. Flash lights or wave at another Porsche.

Coochas

Great idea for a thread Ben.

Around here it's common to be driving along in traffic at 75-80 and all of a sudden have stop n'go conditions ahead on the highway. Once I have slowed down significantly, I always pump my brakes several times to catch the eyes of any drivers behind me who may be fiddling with their radios or make-up. How many times have you seen someone lock up their brakes or need to go 'off road' when the traffic suddenly grinds to a halt. Paying attention ALL THE TIME - there isno substitute.

I have had a few minor scrapes over the years with high curbs in garages or garage poles - fortunately never with my 911. Each time, I was very very tired after working an all night shift. I now truly focus on doing things (like narrow parking garages) extra slowly when I drive sleep deprived.

While we're talking about safety, please remember to strap your four-legged friends' carriers in with the seat belts.

tkids

Must agree with you on that. After proficiently learning how to ride a motor bike, after riding one cross country with a bunch of idiots and after years of everyone out to kill me. I must say that I am a better defensive driver because of it!

OCBen

Sometimes you learn the best driving tips from those rare occasions that you do manage to get into a fender bender or two.

When I was a teenage driver (and I'll never forget this) I came to a light behind this big Buick who had overshot the stop and was now trying to back his *** up to get behind the limit line. It was obvious he didn't see me behind him. I hit the horn hard while gripping the steering wheel and for some strange instinctive reason I applied hard pressure on the brake pedal as though the brakes would stop the closing-in relative motion between the two cars. Well, the ******* didn't hear me and he plowed right into me as I made the damage worse by having locked my wheels.

There was no one behind me and it would have been a simple thing to put the car immediately into reverse and backing up slightly while still blaring the horn to avoid the collision. I remember distinctly that evening rehearsing the events in my mind, realizing my mistake and trying to ingrain the correct driving reaction into my memory so that I can be prepared for the next time that should happen. It paid off dividends too, as there have been countless times when I've had to put it in reverse just because some idiot in a pickup truck or SUV can't see my low sports car behind him.

Another slight fender bender taught me another important lesson when driving a low riding sports car (it was my Z car this time, about 15 yrs ago). I was behind a pickup and we were both waiting to do a turn-on-red. He starts to make his turn after seeing that traffic was clear and I follow behind him looking to my left to make sure traffic was still clear for me to make my turn as well, when all of a sudden - BANG - I hit the guy after he suddenly braked for a pedestrian that stepped into the crosswalk that I obviously couldn't see because I was sitting too low. So now everytime I'm behind someone while waiting to turn right on red I find myself quickly doing a double take from left to right to make sure the car ahead continues as I'm expecting him to. Damage was minor, no police report was necessary. I later ran into the guy (not literally this time) at my local gym and he told me I was the nicest guy he had ever been in an accident with, for what that's worth. (Turned out we both had the same insurance and had our deductibles waived as a result.)

malammik

Here my tips.
1. Pay attention to your eye position or where you look on the road. Most drivers look to close and cannot react fast enough. Try looking a little farther and you will feed your brain with a lot more activity and you will have more time to react and anticipate certain events.

2. If driving on roads that are familiar, you should know about the dangerous spots. Certain blind T interections, quick left turns, etc. Exploit that and slow down or be more careful in those areas.

3. When approaching red light in a multi lane road, stay in proper gear because if someone suddenly sweeps into your late, you will need that power to avoid an accident.

DerivativesGuy

OC,

This is a brilliant thread. I have said it before and I will say it again... You are the leader of this board. Thanks for all this useful information (along with all the other great info you have posted). I may be prone to hyperbole, but I do think that your post may in fact save someone's life or prevent them someone from suffering from serious bodily harm. Thanks again for this thoughtful thread.

DG

NVRANUF

Very true Ben..... and then sometimes its best to just have an angel riding on your shoulder when encountering the unexpected and seemingly unavoidable.

Case in point, ~15yrs ago on the outskirts of Toronto driving my Dad's '72 350SL, cruising "at speed" in the express lane, the traffic in my lane suddenly comes to a complete stop.... While in control, but stopping RAPIDLY, I hear brakes screeching. Glancing in the rear view I see a cube van NOT stopping and coming fast. That's when my angel took over... instantly and simultaneously I hit the accelerator while swerving (blindly) into to the right lane, when cube van goes screeching by us, brakes locked, slamming into the rear of the car that had JUST been in front of us.... meanwhile I'm NOW panicked, thinking I've just cut someone off,..... but again my angel smiled on me.....

All told, beginning to end occurred in a split second.... no idea why I did what I did.... wasn't like I had time to ponder options... was it instinct? reflex? Angels?

The "WTF just happened there" look on Dad's face was priceless!!

And he still has his classic 72 Euro-spec 350SL

DJ23

After my mishap here is a rule I have used since getting back my car and I feel much better about it. One during the day I now drive with my parking lights on. I have an Atlas Grey 911 and that is a dark color that practically blends in with the road. Bigger cars such as trucks and SUV's will occassionaly not see you because they ride hide and two you're blending into the road. So now I check my rear view mirror at stop lights and I drive with my parking lights on during the day and all my lights on before sunset. Just my tip of the day. Watch out for the other guy.

Jay

DerivativesGuy

DJ is your other car an audi?

Holli82

Sunvisor down = Headlights on

rome

Please tell us that you at least got some sleazy lawyer to take the guy that hit you to the cleaners...

OCBen

Thanks for sharing that, Peter. I know exactly what you mean. You may not believe this, but a very similar thing happened to me.

Happened in my '85 Z during my crazy, reckless bachelor days. I was speeding - no surprise there - down one of those boulevards that has a landscaped median divider. Well the light up ahead had changed to yellow and so I sped up even more to try to beat it but it changed to red and so I continued, determined to run the light.

Just then a car driven by a teenager pulls into the intersection from the right without first making sure the intersection was clear before proceeding and he sees me fast approaching and just freezes right there blocking almost the entire two lanes in my direction. I knew I couldn't maneuver around him because of the median and it looked like a sure collision and a bad one too.

I can't explain what happened next - I can only describe it. I slammed on the brakes and my brakes immediately locked up (no ABS) and my back end began to slide out to my left. Luckily I had entered that area where the median had ended, allowing my back end to slide into the intersection without hitting the median and possibly flipping my car. I actually panicked as soon as the car started to slide to the left and so I lifted off the brakes just then. The tires immediately grabbed and my momentum shot me in the diagonal direction my car was now facing, which was enough for me to shoot through without catching the median on the other side and possibly flipping the car there as well.

It happened so quickly but I realized afterwards, after my trembling had settled down, that that was the only possible maneuver to avoid colliding with this car. The sliding motion allowed my car to move laterally to the left, just enough to avoid the collision, and when my tires grabbed I was able to dart out of the way and prevent hitting the median on the opposite side.

I know I couldn't have deliberately made those split second decisions like that which likely saved my life and this young driver's life. Call it a guardian angel or call it pure luck, but I know I could have lost my life that day. I remember suddenly becoming real religious right then, as I thanked God for saving my sorry stupid self. I know I haven't since and I sure won't ever take a stupid risk like that again.

ZenMaster

Considering how many people run red lights these days, if I'm first in line and the light turns green, I wait a second or two before going. If I have good visibility to the cross-traffic, I'll usually be watching to see if anyone decides they can 'make the light'. As much fun as it is to test the 0-60 time in my car, I'd prefer not to drive myself right into an accident.

I know this has saved me a couple of times.