Reading this just served to remind me of the two major accidents I've been first witness to. It'* never a good situation.

While it'* true that we can never be sure how we will react in an emergency panic reaction situation, my experiences lead me to believe that regularly discussing and understanding what is the correct thing to do, will help when your brain makes that instant choice. It has helped to save me more than once.

The Boostmaster is right, it'* usually a reaction to swerve or spike the brakes, even though we shouldn't.

This reminded me of the accident we had here at work. I didn't witness it, but we sure heard it. We are at a corner of two roads, and one day a couple years ago I and another guy that sat next to me heard a real loud noise. I got up and looked out the window and saw a semi tipped over. We went outside, and as we got closer we saw a small straight truck in the ditch. When we got up to it, it was terrible. What had happened is the semi (a powder coating truck coming to our place) was going one direction into the sun and he couldn't see the stop sign (and he was a new guy unfamiliar with our area) and the straight truck plowed right into him. It ended up taking the entire top of the truck right off the frame. We could see the driver slouched over in the wreckage. We could tell he was breathing, but he wasn't moving at all or making any sound. That was the freakiest thing I've ever witnessed, and I hope it never happens again.

well I was sitting at home one night and I used to live on a busy intersection. The roads are both one way and well I was playing xbox and I heard the sound that sounded like a gunshot. I look out the window and here is a brand new BMW and a old beat up civic in the middle of the road in the aftermath position. The BMW is pissing coolant on the road and the civic got straight Tboned. I honestly can't believe that the passenger in the civc didn't get hurt worse. The worst part is it took the cops and ambulance almost a half an hour to get there. I am glad I don't live there anymore

My roommate and I were talking about how we agree that you should just hit the animal, but in this situation it was such a split second reaction to swerve, like Billboost was saying, and we're not sure if we would have done any different than the car in front of us. I think now though, after seeing what can happen my automatic reaction might be to hit the animal.

Ok.. let me go further on the first reaction.

You may find it easier to know your reaction if you have practiced. (No..not hitting something). Choosing your reaction before it is needed. I always go out in the first snow and find a big empty parking lot to practice my corrective skills. Same with locking the brakes and inducing a slide. What you can experience on snow will be very much like grass and dirt etc.

I find that I am nearly correcting for things before they happen. It'* tough in a situation as such to know what your reaction will be... I had a car in front of me swerve wildly on the highway in heavy traffic. Looked like he was going to take out half the people on the road. IMy reaction was ..... tightened my grip on the wheel and prepped for whatever appeared. It ended up being the right reaction as all I lost was a bumper cover and gas tank baffle.

Think proactively of what to do it something does occur, practice what you can and hopefully it serves you well when the unexpected occurs.

100% agree with Boosty. I do the same thing.

People get so scared when there in the car with me in the winter time because i go with the flow when it comes to sliding and i work with the car to make it do what i want.

thats one reason i hate ABS in the winter. make it much harder for me to control the car and make it do what i want it to do.

Good info boosty, I've never thought about going out to practice like you were talking about.

nothing quite like watching someone get closer and closer in the rear view with out stopping and then bam!!!

I've been witness to more accidents than I care to count in the past two an a half years of driving trucks, and almost every single one was caused by someone reacting badly to something unexpected. Usually if it was an animal or another vehicle, they went through unscathed, sometimes not even knowing they had just caused a horrific accident.

There'* no right way to react to an accident. The action that could take you clear of one situation could smash you straight into the worst of another. Experience is the only teacher, and it'* pass-fail.

And I don't know why, what section of our brain or psyche makes it that way, but it seems like sound is often the part that sticks with us the longest. In nightmares, I still hear the thud of my first car slamming into the embankment, the crunch of the passeger side of the roof collapsing as the car spun and flipped, and the sound of gravel grinding under the roof as I slid upside down, and the pinging of the car cooling as I crawled out and stood next to it. In my nightmares, that'* all I hear, and I don't see anything. Just blackness, and that sound, and the impact.