Personal Management while Driving

The previous article touches aspects of preventing collisions and dangerous situations caused by some factor which is external to the driver. In order to achieve this, concentration while driving and an ability to respond is necessary. A good driving posture is going to provide this. Many people underestimate the importance of a proper posture, but race drivers (as an example of a professional driver) can spend a day-long worth of practice sessions for getting the posture inch-perfect.

The driving posture also completes the subject of steering technique which we have illustrated earlier, and improves the driving by much. A good driving posture, first of all, is going to change the visual field of the driver, so a poorly seated driver might not see a hazard in time. Even he does see it, the posture might make the perception time longer, and also likely to make the reaction time longer, as the driver needs to bend forward to reach the controls. Even once the driver reacts, the posture might very well limit his ability to brake hard enough or to steer accurately. 

Even if a collision is not perfectly avoidable (and, as you have seen in the previous article, they might be such) a good driving posture will improve the secondary safety: The ability of the car's passive safety measurements to prevent serious injury. Just wearing the seatbelt is not enough. If it's poorly mounted, not snug and with the driver in an improper posture, it might be quite like not using the seatbelt at all.

Bad Postures
Some drivers sit with the back extremly reclined, and the base drawn away from the pedals. Other than being a clear indication of over-confidence, this posture reduces the driver's field of vision, which might make him unable to detect a hazard in time. Even once a hazard is detected, the driver is not likely to be as alert as he should be and his hazard perception times would increase in any case. Even once a hazard is percieved, the would have to bend forward and reach for the wheel/pedals, making the overall response time much longer and making the driving inputs much less accurate (reduced leverage on the brakes can result in dangerous collision).

Once a crash is caused, the driver's body will be hurt through the now bolt-straight limbs, as well as submarine under the lapbelt, with resultant bruises and internal injuries to the abdomen,  fractures in the knees and lost of the effectiveness of the seatbelt, pretentioner and all airbags installed in the car. The shoulders, as well as the neck and head will be thrown about laterally and perpendicularly, resulting in grave injuries as well, and passenger's in the back would be mortally hit by the driver or even the angled seat, as it moves on it's rails. The posture is also not ergonomically comfortable, as it makes the driver bend forward to reach the controls, and usually removes the seat's side support and lumbar support abilites.

Seating "on" the steering wheel, as some drivers do, is also not very good. It results in imparied forward vision, reduced concentration over time, reduced steering leverage and a great risk of hitting the wheel, airbag or underdash. Most people are in the mid-range, usually sitting a bit too far back, with slightly over-reclined backrests and usually too low as well. They don't always grip the wheel in a controled manner and might have the mirrors set in too tight an angle, all resulting in increased risks and reduced comfort, which is a shame.

Readiness to Drive
Driving should only be done out of responsibility and full control: If you are fatigued, ill, on medication or under even the slightest effect of alcohol, don't drive. Likewise, try to avoid heavy meals (especially with high levels of fat, sugar or salt) before driving as they slow down reaction times like a small glass of wine. Sleep well (about 8 hours) before long journies and rest before going out to drive. Also, keep in mind that it takes some five minutes for your concentration levels to get up when you start driving.

Of course you should also check that the car is ready to drive: A quick peek around all four tires and, before any long drive, a visual inspection and air pressure measurement of all five tires, along with all fluids of the car. Drive the car gently untill it reaches working temperature.

Clothing and Footwear

The driving posture begins with the driver himself. The driver should be dressed: With a shirt and pants, preferably not shorts or short skirts and neither with a heavy coat that will reduce your steering authority and the function of the seatbelts. It's required to drive with footwear and not barefoot. Barefoot driving offers reduced pedal control and a reduced ability to brake quickly in particular. The bare feet are likely to be injured gravely in a collision, and the driver will also have difficulty in getting safely out of the car. 

Good shoes, other than providing some partition that allows to quickly depress the pedals without pain, also provide some dampening: The sole is never perfectly rigid, so as the foot applies pressure unto the pedal, some of the pressure is as if "wasted" as the sole get squeezed between the foot and pedal. This dampening reduces accuracy and rapidness of application, but provides more feel and finese in using it. So, a good footwear should fit snuggly, and have a relatively thin sole: Boots and Heels are out of the question, as are flip-flops on the other hand. The soles should be wiped clean from mud, in winter weather.

Spectacles, if you need them, should be clean and not bulky. Sunglasses are good if they are not too dark and used when the conditions fit. They reduce glare, increase contrast and some are particulalry suit for driving since they also provide some protection from the sides too. Make frequent visits to the optometrist to ensure your eye sight is good for driving.

Visibility
Keep windows, windshields and glasses clean and demisted. Cleaning the car in general makes it more conspiciouos and reduce the amount of greasy dirt it drops over the road. Ensure that you have wiper fluid and new wipers that can clear dust and dirt (and not just rain water) off of the windscreen.

Seating

It's likewise important to position yourself carefully in the seat. Mind you, IN the seat, not on it. Your buttocks and lower back should be planted into the backrest and your body should be centered in the seat, without bending to the sides or forward. The head should be a direct extention of the back, the shoulders should be relaxed and the thighs should be as apart as possible within the limits of personal comfort. This is also a good place to start some parliminary adjustments: Adjust the seat height for comfort and, if possible, tilt the seat's cushion slightly. If the steering is adjustable, set it to a relatively "neutral" height and pull it closer to you.

Adjusting the Seat

The forward to-back adjustment of the seat is the first and easiest step. It is related to your pedal control, but it also changes your visual field, distance from the wheel and control over the wheel. Start the engine and press the brake pedal a few times. This will start the brake booster (based on the vacuum from the intake manifold) and build up some pressure inside it. Now, fully depress the brakes with the right foot and the clutch or dead-pedal to the left, with the left foot. The right heel should be placed on the floor and all pedals should be depressed with the ball of the foot, not the toes.

In this position, we are looking for a bent knee. When the knee is bent, the leg  and lower back are going to be a more relaxed posture during your normal driving, rather than be stretched forward. The feet will have better control over the pedals, since pressure can be applied as torque around the knee, by using the big muscles of the thighs, but also with the sensitivity of the smaller muscles around the foot itself. 

When the knee is straight, your leg acts as a "handlebar" that is being moved by the muscles of the buttocks (Gluetus). This reduces the ability to brake quickly.  Another imporant reason is that when the knee is straight and tensed, the joint is "locked" by the muscles so that a relatively powerfull collision can ommit forces that, instead of being absorbed into the elastic muscles, will be directly transmitted to the bones, causing fractures, and radiating through the leg to the pelvic and even the base of the spine.

The proper distance should provide a bend of about 140 degrees at the knees. This is a good compromise that provides a relatively relaxed positioning of the foot along the whole range of the pedal travel, as well as an ability to apply the pedals quickly in an emergency and some extra clearance should the brake pedal begin to fade. 

Rake of the Back

Once we have set the distance of seating relative to the pedals, we fine-tune our distance from the steering wheel by changing the angle of the backrake. The more upright, the closer are our shoulders to the wheel and the closer they are to being parallel to it. If the back and steering were to be perfectly paralle, than we could be seating quite far from the wheel and still be able to use it without using our back (by bending it forward or to the sides). However, the steering wheel is intentionally situated in an angle that makes it impossible for us to be situated like this (with the advantage a more relaxed grip of the wheel). 

So, the solution is bring the backrest to a relativelly erect position, around 110 degrees usually. This will reduce the difference of the angles between our back and the wheel, and also bring us closer to it, to cancel out the remaining difference of angles, while avoiding too high a placement of the head or too much stress of the lower back.

Steering Adjustment

The steering in many modern cars can be adjusted up and down (in an arch) and even in and out. These adjustments allow to fine-tune the distance from the wheel, particularly for peoples with relatively long or short arms. We use the steering adjustment to bring it closer to us and as parallel to the back angle as possible. Of course there are limitations, since we also need to be able to see the instrument panel through the steering wheel, but keep in mind that you are yet to adjust the height of the seat itself. The wheel should also not be too low relative to our shoulders, and it must also have some clearance from our knees.

We bring the wheel a bit closer to our bodies, and a bit down for it to be as parallel to our back as possible. If we can't bring it to just the right angle, we need to compensate by bring it even closer. Sometimes, even both adjustments don't allow to get it quite right (see "Checking The Adjustment" below) and we need to recheck our back angle or even bring the whole seat closer to the pedals.

If there is any particular problem with getting the seat closer (relevant to people with long feet and short arms in a car that does not suit them), it's better to slightly compromise the steering than to be too close to the pedals and wheel. Also, in terms of steering height (and seat height, covered next) it's better to compromise our full and clear view of the instrument panel than to reduce our forward vision or steering control. Just ensure you see the relevant gages in a way that suffices for you (without moving your head).

When the wheel is higher, it's less comfortable to grip it still for long durations of time, but it's easier to turn it quickly. When the steering is lower, the shoulders have less of a burden, but the arms are somewhat restricted by the body and even the feet, even though the steering becomes more accurate, being based more heavily on forearm strength rather than our arms and shoulders. If your palms on the wheel are about 5 centimeters lower than the shoulders, you achieve a good compromise for driving in cities. You might not be able of getting this inch-perfect without compromising your steering control or view at the instrument panel.

Seat Height

Should also allow for clear forward vision (on the road) and a good view of the instrument cluster. When the seat is higher, we earn better forward vision, but less "feel" through the chassis and less stability and, if it's too high, the interior mirror, visor and roof can interfere with view of signs or long-range vision. It's also less safe because the head might hit something, the airbag might not be as efficient and the head will be operated by a greater leverage in a collision. However, low seating isn't much safer at all: It reduces forward vision, including vision closely in front of the bonnet, for percise manuevering, and might also place the driver is a bad angle relative to the airbag. 

The proper height should allow for a clearance of about four fingers between the head and ceiling, if possible within the limitations. This is a good compromise between forward vision and stability. The height adjustment might also move the seat diagnoally as to change the position relative to the wheel, and is also likely to change the position relative to the pedals. So, adjust the height and check to see if the pedal positioning stays as it should, and also readjust the back rake for the proper distance from the wheel.

In cars with a high ceiling, reclined posture or open roof, look at the windshield and divide it into three equall parts. Adjust the posture so that your eyes are just in line with the bottom of the upper third of the windshield.

Seat Base

This is a good time to adjust the angle of the seat itself (and, in some cars, the actual length of the seat base). We use it to fine-tune our pedal control so that we can fully depress the pedals with the knees properly bent and without the interference of the seat itself: If it's tilted too much, your feet will press down hard against the seat so some of the force is applied against the seat and not the pedals. With the proper adjustment, you should be able to wedge your palm under the thigh when you fully depress the pedals (with the thigh itself being against the seat's base). This should provide a good compromise between a comfortable posture and good clearance when you need to brake quickly. You might need to slightly readjust the seat height to get it right.

Checking the Adjustment

After we completed the different adjustments of the seat and steering, we perform the check that determines whether we are positioned neatly relative to the wheel. We put our shoulder-blades against the back of the seat and stretch our left arm forward towards the top of the wheel. We have already established that the wheel will always be at least somewhat at an angle relative to us, so it's topmost portion will be the furthest away from us. With our arm straight, we should be able to rest our wrist perfectly over the wheel. 

We should be able to do this with the arm straight, but not forcifully outstretched forward, and without houncing our shoulder-blades forward. The wrist should be able of resting over the wheel, not just "touch" the face of the wheel. To be certain, try to bend it slightly over the rim. Heavier vehicles like trucks have steering rims which are bigger and more notably angled, so this check is not possible. Instead, check to see if you can grip the top of the wheel without outstretching the arm or hounching the shoulders. 

Hands on the wheel

Your two hands both belong on the steering wheel. They should be placed in 9 and 3, parallel to the steering column. This provides the greatest leverage on the wheel and a perfect balance between the two hands. Also, the arms, shoulders, forearms and wrists could adopt a more natural position. In the proper driving position, if you manage to get it inch perfect, you arms will now be bent at about 120 degrees. When you need to quickly turn the wheel, your arms will allow a full 260 degrees of leverage.

The palms should be cupping the outer diameter of the wheel (rather than be pressed against the face of the wheel and the thumbs should be hooked inside the wheel, in the purpose-built intendations. The other fingers should be lightly curled around the rim. On bumpy roads or off-road surfaces, place the thumbs on the face of the wheel so that they don't risk injury.

The grip of the wheel should be light. Just strong enough to keep it under control, and tighter or lighter as the conditions change. A strong grip is tiring, stressing and also makes the vibrations of the wheel be absorbed into the muscles, reducing sensitivity. The grip should be light, originating from your fingertips and not only from your palms, but still strong enough to control the wheel, according to the conditions. The grip should remain light even when turning the wheel. Grip the wheel at 9 and 3 and turn it 90 degrees. Now turn a bit more. Look at your arm, is it tensed, or do you relax it and let the elbow point down?

The steering of the wheel should be done is smooth movements. It's best to use the steering technique illustrated in a previous articles, but for general driving purpose, the main thing is to keep the hands on the outside of the wheel, while using both hands and making large hand movement. Using one hand, as many drivers do, is a mistake since it reduces car control. It is usually considered as a more relaxed manner of steering where in fact it overloads the upper back and shoulders for no good reason.

Feet

Your thighs should be as apart as possible, within the limits of your own sense of safety. Most drivers reach a position where there is slight contact of the feet with the center console on one side and even the door on the other side. This, in addition to the wide angle, provides increased body support via the legs and not the back. The thighs are much more powerfull than the back and this will eliminate back cramps.

Your left foot should be placed on the left footrest, low towards the floor. This helps in opening the legs to a wider angle and distribute the weight of the body evenly over the two sides of the pelvic. Also, in an emergency when you brake and/or veer, forces of forward or lateral acceleration will be experienced by your body. In this position, you can apply pressure against it to brace yourself. 

If you are braking, your body seeks to maintain forward motion and gets pushed forward. This makes you push against the wheel and lean your weight unto it, so you cannot turn it freely to avoid to obstacle if you are too close to stop in time. By pressing on the footrest, your body's weight is applied unto the floor so you can steer freely. Also, by applying pressure with both feet, you are able to depress the brakes more rapidly. Likewise, when steering, instead of hanging on to the steering and "pulling" it with your body, you can remain in your natural position, over the left foot.

The right foot is important too. It's position should be with the heel on the floor, in front of the brakes, but slightly offset towards the gas pedal. You should be able to depress each pedal with the ball of the foot, by pivoting the foot over the heel from brakes to throttle. Note that in this position you don't actually need to cover any of the two pedals with your whole foot, you just need enough contact for to be secured. The throttle pedal in particular would, in this method, be pressed with the foot in an angle towards it and the foot will also make contact with the pedal closer to it's lower part. This way, the leverage is reduced and the sensitivity of the acceleration would increase. There is one exception and that is emergency braking. When you need to brake quickly, simply kick the pedal down. Place your whole foot over it and kick it without using the heel as a pivot.

The clutch pedal, to differ from the throttle and even the brakes, is usually quite heavy. It is normally pressed by putting your whole foot onto it and pushing it down. If you standing still in first gear with the clutch engaged, you might put your heel down on the floor to relax the foot. 

Additional Adjustments

If a lumbar support is available, adjust it for equall pressure across your whole back. An adjustable lumbar support can be replaced by a small pillow or even a rolled towl. Side support should also be adjusted according to feel. If the pedals can be adjusted, set them so you can just the right distance, where the maximum knee angle is about 140 degrees, and the pedal control is not interfered by the seat, while it is still providing full support to the thigh. 

Seatbelts, Airbags and Head Restraints

The proper driving position should also be adjusted with relation to those safety measures. First and most important is the seatbelt, beggining with the lap-belt. The lower part of the belt should be placed as low as possible so it sits on the rigid pelvic bones, not on the soft stomach. It should be fitted as snuggly as possible. The diagonal part of the belt is also important and it should be adjusted (through the height adjustment of it's upper mounting) so that it fits right on your acromion.

The acromion can be felt as a "socket" between your arm and neck, just at the end of the collar bone. It should NOT be placed on the edge of the shoulder and neither on the collar bone. By "right on" I also mean that there should no gap between the bone and the belt. The belt mounting itself should also be higher than your shoulders, so it can stretch quickly enough in a collision. The belt must be free of twists. Such twists will interfere with the operation of the pretentioner, will bruise the driver and cause fractures in the area of the twist. They can be manually repaired by trying to run the twist through the belt buckle.

It's also important to note your location relative to the airbag. Your arms at 9 and 3 are generally out of it's way, so it won't hurt your arms. It should, in fact, push them down against your thighs. The next thing to take care of is to make sure the steering height and seat height are adjusted so that the center of the steering hub is pointed roughly towards your chest, not straight at your head or down at your stomach, and to ensure a safe distance of 10' between that point and your sternum. Problems in this field arouse with people who are very obese and/or short (below 150 centimeters).

The head-restraint should be adjusted for safety against a whiplash injury. It should be at least as high as your eye-brows but, much more important, it should be as close to your head as possible. A distance of 2-3 centimeters is best, where above 6 centimeters the risk of whiplash is increased greatly. Not all restaints can be adjusted to the right distance, so you might even need to bring the whole backrest to a more upright angle to achieve this.

Readjusting the Posture

Driving is dynamic. It should be flexible and change to meet the conditions. In the same fashion, the driving posture should be subtly tweaked to fit your personal comfort in changing conditions, rather than remain static in all conditions. If you are cruising on a clear highway in a relaxed manner, you can choose to bring the seat itself just one "step" backwards, recline the base of the seat a bit more, bringing the wheel closer to your body and lower relative to your shoulders.

At this posture, your knees should be bent at an angle of 160 degrees when you fully depress the brakes, slightly reducing your leverage, but making it more comfortable when you are not pressing the pedals down hard, while still keeping it safe. Your wrist should be able to touch the wheel and your arms at 9 and 3 should be bent at about 140 degrees and your palms should be quite lower than your shoulders.

Alternativelly, if you driving on a winding mountain road or perhaps in a track day, you might choose to bring the seat one step forward relative to your basic posture, bring the seat height lower and tighten the seatbelt. Your legs should be bent at 120 degrees when you fully depress the pedals, your elbows should be bent at about 90 degrees and your shoulders should be about the same height as your palms. Your head should be a handwidth away from the ceiling.

The seatbelt can be intetionally tensioned for this purpose by pulling it across your waist, over your shoulder and through the mounting and than pulling it quickly to lock it into place. An even better method is to pull the seat backwards and down, put the seatbelt on, pulling it across your waist and than pulling it quickly forward over your your shoulder to lock it. Now, lean forward unto it while moving the seat back to the normal position, and watch your belt as it tightens around you and squeezes you into the seat.

Mirror Adjustment

The second part involves adjusting our mirrors for full vision. This can reduce the collisions related to swerving. This is a good time to remind you that your field of vision should be clear. Any object, even a small one, on the dash, down from the mirror or over the windshield should be moved so that it does not obstruct forward vision. In particular, aftermarket mirrors should be avoided.

Fitting a wide-angle convex mirror over your original mirror is not going to help, since it's alledged contribution to the visual field will be obstructed by the inside parts of the car and will in any case be duplicated in the side mirrors.  This also leads to superflous information that makes our response times longer, because instead of seeing the traffic right behind us, we need to see it through our own car. When a driver is aside us, we will see in the interior mirror and the side mirror, making it harder to accurately determind where it actually is.

Most of these mirrors also cause distort and are made of cheap glass that is not tempered, so it breaks in a collision, making little shards hurts the eyes and face, and cause bigger cuts to the arms and torso. The mirror itself can be disludged towards the driver's and passenger's heads in a rear-end collision, causing possibily-fatal damage, or be thrown by either of the front airbag, most probably the passenger side one. This is good time to remind you that, other than racing gear for race cars, the driver's enviornment should remain as stock as possible: No padded steering wheel covers, no convex mirrors, no seat covers, no pedal plates or aluminun floor mats.

The car's interior mirror should be adjusted for a clear and full view of the rear window. In bright day light and in night driving, you can tilt the little switch beneath the mirror to move into "night vision" to clear out strong light sources from the image and reduce glare.

Now, open the two side mirrors so that the edges of your own car (quarterpnale) are just barely seen in them, and than open them slightly further. Many cars have a smaller passenger's side mirror and sometimes a driver's side mirrors instead. If one mirror is smaller, you need to compensate by opening it further out. If it's electronic, try opening it out by three more "clicks." Now, check and see whether it's working:

1. If it's the driver's side (left) mirror: Put your head against the window. You should now be able to see just the edge of the car in the mirror

2. If it's the passenger's side (right) mirror: Put your head directly in the center of the car (in line with the interior mirror's pillar) without bending forward. You should just be able to see the edge of your own car in the mirror, and than open it slightly further.

This adjustment opens the side mirrors up so that they don't overlap as much with the interior mirror. The overlapped fields of vision are essentially "wasted" and they also create superflous information which is dis-orienting and makes for longer reaction times. By reducing it (but not eliminating it) our side mirrors show us the areas in our 7 and 4 O'Clock, which are crucial for overtakes and lane changes. Furthermore, the coverage is so large that any other road user passing by us in the near lane, will be seen in the mirror untill he starts to come into the view of our peripheral vision through the side windows, with the head pointing straight or slightly tilted towards the relevant mirror.  The unseen area near your own car's body is not important since it's too close to your car and too small for anything to fit in it, including children or mopeds.

It's not that you don't have blindspots, but those blindspots are more relevant to multi-lane roads or when reversing or merging at angles that the mirrors were never planned to be used in. Nevertheless, when you are driving on a dual-carriageway, for instance, with this mirror alignment, there is no need to shoulder check. Simply check the interior mirror AND the relevant side mirror, start moving over and check the side mirror again.

Mind you, the mirrors are not only used during lane changes. You need to use them once few seconds, to get an idea of what is around you at all times. Get into the habit of looking in the interior mirror once every five seconds, and in the relevant side mirror once every seven seconds. Stand with your car in the parking space and count to five and than glance at the mirror and quickly return to forward vision as you keep on counting. When you get to seven, quickly glance at the left-side mirror and than back to straight, and all over again. Now try to do this when you are parked along a street with moving traffic. Now try it when you are driving in an empty street, than with thin traffic and than in heavier traffic. Work on checking the mirrors frequently and checking them quickly -- just in a fraction of a second -- so you are not distracted from what is going on in front.

Parking, reversing and other precision manuevers are problematic with this kind of adjustment, since you cannot use your own car's body as a point of reference. But it would be wrong to adjust our mirrors for reversing, when we drive so much more miles and spend much more time driving forward, with much greater risks, speeds and factors involved. And, besides, who ever said that the mirror adjustment should be rigid? Why could it change or flex to fit the conditions?

In any case, during precision manuevring we need our mirrors to be adjusted in a completly different way -- not only closed, but also tilt down towards the curb or even the rear wheel. Many cars have a memory for several mirror alignments just for this end, and some cars even have mirrors that are meant to be opened wide and are than closed back to a narrow alignment when you put it into reverse. It's also possible to mount a small auxiliary mirror ontop of the housing of one of the mirrors. Avoid the adhesive mirrors that fit on your stock mirror's glass, or big bulky mirrors that interfere with forward vision.

Another problematic situation is when the view via the rear window is in part obstructed by passenger's heads and by their head restraints. In this situation more overlap would be desirable so that you could see to your back with the side mirrors too. Don't forget that you can easily do this. Just tilt your head slightly towards your driver's side mirror and your car's quarterpanel would come into view again. You can also put the auxiliary mirror on your passenger's side mirror, for this purpose.

Another thing is viewing the inside of your own car. This might prove important on family trips. It's best to entrust the task of managing the buisness inside the car to another adult or an older child, rather than focusing on it, even without looking backwards or while looking in the mirror. If you feel it is necessary, than purchase a vacuum-adhesive mirror, made of tempered glass, and fit as close to the stock mirror as possible and as high as possible.

Load in the Passenger's Compartment

When you drive along with passengers and luggage in the car, you need to ensure several precautions are being made. First, adjust tire pressures to the conditions. Second, make sure that all passengers are fastened and secure in terms of placement in the car, relevant child restaints and head-rests. Place the youngest child in the middle (rear) seat, and the older one to his right, the older one to his left and an adult above 14 in front.

All passengers should be sitting, not bending or laying down, and without putting limbs in areas where the airbags are placed. The front passenger should be seated upright like the driver, to avoid submarining under the belt. He/she should remain awake during the drive so they can help you  stay alert and safe, and also keep themselves safe (a sleeping passenger get suffers from a greater hit in a collision, not a lighter one).

Luggage should be placed in the trunk. The heavier items should be placed far forward, against the backs of the seats, preferably with their flat side facing the seats. This kind of placement reduces their movement in a collision, and reduces the load they pose unto the vehicle itself. The items should also be distributed equally on both sides of the car.

Windows and Air Conditioning

The Air Conditioning inside the car is crucial for your safety. Heat reduces awareness and creates dehydration and numbness. Empirically, increased amount of collisions occur during heatwaves. Being cold is also not very good, and cold weather, as well as influenza, are known causes of collisions. Likewise, constanr recirculation of air diminishes the amount of oxygen to cause health problems and increase risk of falling asleep at the wheel. Turbulances and wind noise are likewise distracting and prevent hearing the sounds of the environment.

One crucial moment is when we enter the car. After even two hours in the sun it can pack up heat that causes considerable fatigue, and is also related to health issues (as toxins are being defused from the plastic unto the air of the closed vehicle) and sun burns. The solution is to open the doors and windows to let the hot air escape. Even two minutes can do a massive change. In the hot summer, there is no choice but to turn on the ignition and apply the air conditioning on "fresh air" settings to clear out the hot air, with the windows semi-open.

Once the car has cooled down, try to keep it cool by applying the A/C on a reasonable fan power (too much will not provide you with cold enough air and will be very loud and consume lots of gas) and on air recirculation. It's important to keep a crack of the driver's side window open for fresh air and in order to get the sounds of the surroundings. In highway speeds, it might be better to switch the A/C  to "fresh air" for certain durations of time, rather than keep a window open, as it will cause a disturbing turbulance of air.

In nice weather, you can drive in towns with an open window instead of using the air conditioning. In these conditions, the open window helps in providing some feedback as to your speed, reduced risk of glass shards in a collision, and the audio input from the road around us, and the ability to better communicate with drivers around us. The key thing is not to keep the window semi-open, is this can lead to head injury in a collision. Also, it can lead to damage to the mechanism that holds the glass in place, when the road is bumpy. On bumpy surfaces, keep the windows perfectly closed.

Use the air conditioning to clear out mist from the windshield before you drive, and keep the heating inside the car in hot days balanced with a slight crack of the driver's window for fresh air. You can also use the heating to disperse excessive engine heat when the engine starts to heat up and there isn't a safe place to stop.

When you are about to finish driving, reduce the force of the fan and turn off the conditions. Before turning the car down, open up the circulation for fresh air and close the fan before you turn down the ignition. This will refresh the air conditioning unit and reduce electric strain when you ignite the car again. Try to park the car in the shade, and preferably with a small crack on the driver's window and with some sun protection at the windscreen or windows.

Use the air-conditioning and the heating over the whole year. Even in the winter, find a good time to activate the air conditioning for a few minutes once every three weeks, after the engine has reached working temperature. This will keep the unit running well during the hot season, as it will remain lubricated. The same applies for the heating. The heating can also be used to refresh the air inside the car.

Breaks and Energy Management
I have mentioned earlier that one should drive when well rested. This includes a minimum of seven hours of sleep and, before long or demanding drives, a certain rest before the driving itself. The driver should be free of the effect of alcohol, drugs, illness or hunger/dehydration. A good energtic meal and some water or juice are a must. Heavy meals have just the same impact as some alcohol in the system, and should be avoided. When entering the car, the driver has to ensure the safety of the passengers and cargo, as described earlier. It's best to leave the percision manuevering (reversing) to the end of the travel, so you can start by driving straight out, without the problems related to poor rear vision and the reduced concentration in the first few minutes of driving.

In long drives, stop once every hour for about ten minutes. If it's relaxed and not very demanding or dangerous, you might expand this to an hour and a-half, but most long journies involve hazardous two-lane roadways, winding mountain roads, buisy motorways, hot summer weather and quite often a car loaded with passengers. The solution is to stop on an hourly basis, in a safe place which is remote and perfectly segregated from the road itself. This does wonders with the driver's focus, as well as:

- Refreshing the air in the cabin and giving you an oppurtunity to clean the mass up
- Allows passengers (particularly children) to avoid bordom which makes them irritated
- Allows to have a little snack (150 calories per hour of driving) and some water (three to four glasses, as a rule of thumb), a rest and a bit of stretching and deep breathing.
- Allows the engine, tires and air conditioning to cool down and allows you to re-inspect the tires before moving on.
- Allows you and the passengers to go to the toilet.
- Prevents cramps in the relevant muscles

It also advised to use an adult passenger next to you to help you while driving and, if he/she has a driver's license, swap positions after two or three hours of driving. Anyhow, every five hours of driving should be followed directly by a longer break, starting from a minimum of 30 minutes. A bit of bending while driving is also a good thing to do, provided it's done in safe places like during a stop or while moving steadily on an open, clear road with a median.

Stops of any kind and for any reason, should be done only in places that are remoted from the road and completly and ridigly segregated from it. Even a fatigued driver can keep on driving slowly towards a near exit/rest stop/filling station/side road or what not -- and stop there. In that case, a quick 30 minute rest, followed by a quick supply of simple carbohyrdates (the ideal food is a bit of grapes or other fruits), some cool water and a slight jog -- will give you an hour's worth of wakefull alertness.

Avoiding the Unavoidable Collision

Most people conceive that a great portion of collisions are unavoidable since they are not caused by the driver's mistake, but rather by someone else's fault: Another driver, the road itself, or the car. My motto as an advanced driver is that a good driver with a reasonable car can either avoid the collision, or prevent it's tragic outcomes (death or severe injury). The very notion of an unavoidable collision is false due to two reasons: The first is empirical. It so turns out that most collisions can be avoided, or their consequences can be reduced greatly, even when the other driver causes them. 

But another reason is psychological: By claiming that some crashes are unavoidable we take guilt from ourselves and apply it onto the imaginary 'other driver.' This act of passing the blame onto another driver is a perceptual tool to remove responsibility from one self. Drivers who claim some collisions are unavoidable are drivers who view themselves as dissociated from the subject of collisions. Blaming the other driver is their way of avoiding the sense of duty to drive responsibly or improving their driving. 

The logic of those drivers states that if many collisions are caused by another driver and cannot be avoided, than there is no need to drive responsibly or to do anything more to improve their driving, since it won't matter. Shifting the responsibility towards somewhere else is a psychological solution for many problems in our lives, but it is merely in our mind: We "solve" a problem without actually taking action, it's in our imagination.

So, drivers who claim they cannot avoid a collision caused by another driver, are in fact claiming that it does not matter what they as drivers do with their own driving skills, so they don't change their driving style and maintain an unsafe driving style. The net result is that these drivers maintain a way of driving that not only makes them unable to react to situations created by another driver, but also makes them involved in collisions that are purely their own fault. The very idea of "guilt" should be kept outside of driving, the only thing that matters is personal safety. Now I shall begin in offering PRACTICAL solutions to different situations that lead to collisions caused by someone else's "fault."

Note: A good car helps a lot. While it possible to apply of these pieces of advice in every car, some might be much harder or less effective in cars with ABS, without good crash-test ratings or even without ESP. A good car, with at least three-star rating in the Euro-NCAP test (or the parallel tests in America, Australia or Japan) at least four airbags, ABS and ESP are becomes standard issues in our times and they will help you very much in avoiding collisions caused by another driver. By the very least, make an effort to drive a car with adequate passive safety and with ABS and at least two airbags.

Rear-End Collisions

By far the most likely kind of crash under the category of crashes caused by another driver, rear end collisions are a real nuisance and sometimes a genuine hazard. These collisions can either occur at low to moderate speeds, or higher speeds when on highways. They cannot always be prevented, but most of these kinds of crashes can be avoided, and the smaller precent of unavoidable collisions can be reduced to a very low speed and without substantial damage. 

The first countermeasure to be taken is to constantly monitor the mirrors. The goal is to keep an up to-date idea of what is around us at all times. The rule of thumb is to look at the interior mirror once every five seconds, and scan the relevant side mirror every seven seconds or so (a look to the interior mirror and, within the next two or three seconds, a glimpse of the relevant side mirror). The idea is to identify erratic drivers or drivers who are following us too closely. Many people can recall that they noticed the tailgater in advance, but did not do anything to shake him off before the crash. If you have even a doubt that one of these two kinds of drivers is indeed following you, start by adding another second to the following distance from the car ahead and slow down slightly. This will allow you to react to situations in front more gradually, without causing the tailgater or inattentive driver behind to ram into you.

Besides these, trying to move over and allow the driver to pass is by far the best solution. In a two-lane roadway, it's even possible to drop to the hard-shoulder on the right to allow the driver behind to pass you. If the option of having the driver behind pass you is not possible, you need to double your forward gap, reduce your speed and use hazard lights or even a short flash of the rear fog lights to push the following driver away from you. To get the skill of identifying a tailgater,  understand that if you can't see the front end of the following car's bonnet it's surely too close. In normal city speeds and dry conditions, you should see the headlights of the following car. In higher speeds you should see it's wheels or even some tarmac between you and it. 

Following distances should also be maintained in slow moving traffic jams, and when stopped. In a jam, trying to keep crawling along at a constant pace rather than accelerating and stopping in succession, is likely to prevent the typical fender-bender collisions caused in such cases, and reduce the time spent in the jam for yourself and mainly for the following traffic. 

The Escape Route

But maintaining a proper following distance after you have stopped is where it the real money is. When you stop behind a queue of cars, you have eliminated risk in front and from the sides, but the risk from behind still exists. So, don't stand at the end of the queue in front, stand in the front of your own queue. Look far ahead and anticipate the stop by advance so you can slow down gradually in a way that will make the traffic behind you react and slow down and "squeeze" into a queue. You are in fact "collecting" the cars behind you and bringing them to a safe halt.

Slow down with a constant pressure on the pedal, and look down towards the point of tarmac you want to stop at. Aim to come to a stop or near-stop "too early" so you keep a considerable gap in front as a possible "escape route." Look behind and see how the traffic behind is responding, if you see hurtling cars, a driver that seems distracted or hear brake noise, you now have an "escape route" in front (usually, a few feet can do) and a possibility of swerving aside (even over a curb) too, to avoid being hit from behind or at the very least reduce the overall velocity of the collision.

If you recognize a distracted driver or who seems to be hurtling towards you, wait for it to be more relatively close to you and move forward to free those extra few feet (which will very often do the job). It's recommended to attempt and monitor not only the following driver but even the second driver in line too. Remain in gear until you have "cover" from one or two cars (or one heavy vehicle like a truck) that stop behind you. At this point you can move forward towards the car in front (or the crosswalk or whatever it is you stopped for) or even flick a manual transmission into neutral. 

Even when "covered", maintain a certain distance from the car ahead or crosswalk in front. In a queue, you should still be able to see a bit of tarmac between yourself and the car in front. This gap has various advantages: If the car ahead breaks down, you can get around it. You can avoid hitting it if it rolls backwards or if you slip forward, and even if ,by some means, the column of cars behind you is pushed by a car at the end of the queue, you yourself will not be pushed at the car in front. You will also leave considerable room to maneuver if you need to get off of the road (due to a break down) or to clear way to emergency service vehicles. 

In a crosswalk, this has the additional benefit of letting the driver behind notice notice the pedestrians earlier. This helps to prevent a situation where a following driver passes you over a crosswalk and hits a crossing pedestrian. In any case, you also give bikes room to maneuver around you, much appreciated by those on two wheels. 

The Roadside Collisions

A completely different kind of rear-end collision occurs at higher speeds and usually results in much more severe outcomes. This kind of crashes occurs when a driver has pulled over along the side of the road on a highway (or any road with a speed limit of over 70km/h, as a rule of thumb) and gets hit by a car that swerves from the flow of traffic. The stopped car is likely to attract the attention of other drivers which, under some conditions, might make them swerve towards their point of focus (a natural effect) and at the stopped car. Drivers can also swerve into another car due to distractions, malfunctions, misjudged speed, swerving from decelerating traffic in front or other reasons. The bottom line is that the hard shoulder is under no circumstances a safe location to stop in.

What is a safe location? A side road, filling station, parking lot, off-road trail that connects onto the main road, an exit from the highway or a connection onto an access road towards a nearby settlement, or any open area that allows to get at least twenty meters away from the road. Many European countries nowadays have special bays once every mile, allowing cars to stop safely for emergency reasons and offer a none-charge hotline to the local police, highway authorities or emergency services.  What isn't a safe stopping place? The hard shoulder, even where it seems very wide, or bus stops along the shoulder.

In countries with highways that still portray an open hard-shoulder, the following instructions should be obeyed: First, Do not Stop. Most reasons that bring people to pull over can be postponed until reaching the nearest safe place to stop. They are usually available within a very reasonable range. Whether the children are nagging, if your tired, hungry or thirsty; you need to make a phone call or look at the map -- these are all problems with solutions that can be delayed until you reach a safe stopping place. But, what happens If you must stop? You don't necessarily have to stop on the shoulder! Here are a few situations:

A Break Down 
Not all break-down are born equal. Most of them still allow to keep on rolling, albeit sometimes this can cause damage to the car. Always prefer damage to the car over the possibility of damage to it's occupants (as well as damage to the other driver that might hit you). In the event of a blown tire, a heat buildup in the engine or any other malfunction, don't immediately pull over. Instead, keep moving and think whether or not there is a safe place to stop within a reasonable range. If there is one, than it's fairly possible to drive on a blown tire or with a heating or un-lubricated engine for a few extra hundreds of meters.

The way to do this is to slow down and let the car roll slowly and steadily on the right shoulder (in countries where you drive on the right) but without stopping. In a 10km/h crawling pace, you can ride on a blown tire without damaging the rim. Likewise, if your engine starts to overheats there is usually enough time to reach a safe place before the temperature becomes critical, and driving at a low RPM and applying the heating can expand this time spawn considerably.

Acute Breakdowns
Some break-down make it impossible to keep on moving: When the engine suddenly shuts down. Even in this case it's possible to flick it into neutral and let the inertia roll the car towards a safe stopping place (if present) or at least to the most safe spot on the shoulder and as far away from the road as possible (at night time, a lighted area too). Know that the right shoulder (in countries where you drive on the right) are much safer than the left side, which also offers no good cover to get behind. Another situation where you need to stop is if you encounter a break-down (like a blown tire) and can't find a reasonable stopping place.

A Minor Collision: If you had a minor collision with another car, and you need to exchange insurance details, try and get yourself and the other driver to a safe location. If he/she insists on stopping on the spot, get him to go with you over the guardrail and do your buisness there.

Being Pulled Over: Stay in the car and buckled and pull FAR right and as far from the road as possible ,even off of the road, and apply the brakes. The police in most countries should order you to pull over into a safe "bay" or at least position  their police car in a position that will provide you with some cover.

Loose Cargo: I have seen people stop for small, unnessecary cargo that has been thrown off of a vehicle. Consider whether it's worth it or not. This situation in particular should be completly avoided by proper harnessing of cargo in the car or refraining from moving it in the car.

Present at the Scene of a Crash: If you are one of the first people in a crash site with injured people, slow down gradually and position your car far to the back and in a way that will provide cover. Use the blinkers, warning triangle, hi-viz clothes and every possible tool to reduce the risk. Help the injured and assest whether you can get them off of the road to a safe location.

What to do once you have stopped

Be it as it may, once you have stopped for some reason, your only solution is to get out of the car, along with all your passengers, even if the weather is not very comfortable. Do not try to fix the mechanical problem yourself, no matter how simple it may be. Instead, Exit the car from the side not facing the road, lock it and get yourself and all passengers over the guardrail and well behind it. If there is trench, try to go beyond it and if there is a hill, climb it. You can also find cover behind a light pole or other barrier. Wear you high visibility (hi-viz) clothes. 

Call emergency services at once to reduce the time spent in harm's way. Face towards the oncoming traffic and make your best efforts to place a warning triangle about 30 meters (50 in faster roads) behind the car. Reduce the risk by walking behind the guardrail towards the point at which you want to place the triangle. Return to a point about half-way between your own car and the triangle. Drivers will notice you before they see the car, and the trajectory of the car or car parts (if hit) will not be aimed at you.

If there is no guardrail to take cover behind (or when the weather is extremely violent or you are personally threatened by people around) -- than your own car is your best protection. Stay inside the car with all passengers. Remain buckled, apply the hazard lights, put your head against the head-restraint and keep the handbrake applied and the footbrakes clamped.

Avoiding the Neck Pain

This brings me to the last point on rear-end collisions: If any kind of rear-end collision is not avoidable, you best option is to put your head against the head restraint, try to avoid tensing your neck muscles and clamp the footbrakes. These moves should reduce the risk of whiplash. Braking will keep the car stationary so it takes a stronger hit, but the force of that hit will be absorbed into the crumple zones, and will not be translated into a force applied unto the neck. Whiplash is caused by the torso being pushed forward relative to the neck and head. If the car is not pushed forward, the injury is less likely to occur. If you drive a small car with passengers in the back seat and you worry that the force of the collision will be very strong (if it involves high speeds or a heavy truck coming up behind you) -- don't press the brakes as hard.

This is also a good time to remind you that your head restraints should be adjusted in advance: Set them so that they are at least as high as your eye brows and, at that point, as close to your head as possible, about 2-3 centimeters away. If the gap in your normal driving posture is bigger than 6cm -- the risk of whiplash is dramatically increased. In some cars, the head restraint itself can only be adjusted vertically, so your only way of getting it to fit in the right distance (which is more important than it's height!) is to change the rake of the seat altogether (i.e. erect the backrest to an even more upright angle). Using all of these precautions can prevent the rear-end collision or reduce it to relatively small collisions without damage to the passengers.

Collisions in the Parking Space
Another kind of collisions are mostly minor ones, that are caused when the driver is reversing, parking or manuevering at a slow speed in a certain situation. When reversing, "close" your mirror alignment so that your own car comes into view in the side mirrors and point them slightly lower towards the road itself. For parking along the curb, adjust it so you can see your rear wheels in the mirror. Use the mirrors, and take occasional "peeks" over the shoulder to both sides. Keep an open window during reversing, and shut down the music and any noise source. Focus on sounds and take a peek around through the open window, too. This can prevent collisions involved with reversing.

Park your car close to the curbs, with a certain gap from other cars, and - in a parking lot - best park between two poles. Parking your car properly is actually a way to prevent collisions from occuring when you are not inside the car: A car closer to the curb is much less likely of getting "clipped" or rear ended.

Diagonal Collision 

Another kind of crash is called a "diagonal" collision and it generally occurs at intersections when two drivers enter the junction from two different directions. One driver has a green light which gives him or her a (false) sense of safety, and the other driver is either distracted and runs the red, or hesitates and starts crossing when it's amber which than turns into red. These collisions are often quite severe because it's hard to fit a sufficient crumple zone into the car's door frame, but they too can be prevented.

The first move is to realize the hazard posed by a junction, any junction. The junction is by definition the most dangerous place along the road you travel through. So, junctions must be treated with your full 100% of concentration. If you talk on the phone via speaker (and it's advised that you don't) or even with your passengers, you can use the magic words "Just a sec." to momentarily cut the flow of the discussion and deal the junction with your full concentration.

If you feel a need to slow down, do so. Many intersections feature a limited field of vision, and others are situated along rural roads with speed limits above 70km/h (which is the maximum practical speed at which you can cross a junction safely). Of course many intersections don't require any unique slow-down, but it's still important that a few feet before you are inside the junction itself you let go of the gas and ready yourself to the possibility of braking. This by itself can reduce your reaction time in a crucial manner. Always scan the junction from side to side well before reaching it. Look at crossing traffic and asses whether they seem to stop in time or not. This offers practice which will in time make you able of estimating quite reliably whether another car is likely to run red or not. 

Familiarize yourself with your cars braking abilities in the event a full-force emergency braking situation. Practicing emergency braking in empty lots (or in a special defensive driving course) allows you to perform it efficiently in real time (where an un-trained driver will hesitate and not brake as hard as he should) but also allows you to appreciate just how long it takes to stop from a certain speed. This skill can help you set an imaginary "Point of No Return" before the intersection. Beyond this point, any attempt to stop will still result in entering the intersection.

The "Point of No Return" is the key to negotiating the intersection: Everything I've mentioned above about reducing speed before high-speed intersections or blind ones, and about scanning the intersection from side to side, should all be done well before the point of no return. Passing the point of no return makes you committed to the intersection, even if the light switches to amber. If the light switches to amber before you reach the point of no-return, slow down to a stop (crossing a junction at amber is very dangerous and legally considered identical to running red) unless traffic behind is pressing dangerously.

Do not accelerate to make it through the green light. With that being said, if you have to run amber (passed the point of no return or forced to be the traffic behind) you can accelerate a bit to ensure you get through the junction in time, so long as you enter the junction itself without throttle (readiness to brake). In fast intersections, it might even be worthwhile to avoid the slightest doubt and stop gently when the green light is flashing or is excepted to turn amber.

If another car does breaks into the junction as you cross it, slam on the brakes. Hard! As said, most drivers will hesitate and produce a "squeeze" motion which will not produce a sufficient stopping force in time. The idea is to actually kick the pedal down. Even in cars without ABS, this solution is effective, although more skilled drivers can resort to "regressive braking" where they start unwinding the pressure in search of the "threshold" of maximum braking. 

Be ready to use your steering if you don't seem to be able to stop in time. ABS really helps here as you can brake, wipe off as much speed as possible in a straight line and than veer while braking. Without ABS, however, you will need to lift off of the brakes to achieve responsive steering. The key in both cases is to provide extra support by pressing the other foot against the clutch or dead pedal, and doing what you can to evert your eyes from the obstacle itself towards the direction you wish to veer towards. 

The braking itself can allow the other car to clear the intersection, or at least allow you to veer around it. In the worst case, you would have reduced the force of the collision dramatically. Even if you are bumped by following traffic the impact is likely to occur at a reduced speed and without pushing the car forward, and it will categorically be preferable over hitting the crossing car. Using the seatbelts, as well as the proper child restraints, also contributes to a dramatic reduction of the force in such collisions, and a car with an acceptable Euro-NCAP rating and side airbags is also important.

Another kind of such collision can occur when you pull into the junction just as it turned green again, after stopping. When you get the green, start rolling into the junction SLOWLY while scanning it to both sides and only once you've seen no threats, accelerate through.

Cars Pulling Out In Front

Another kind of crash occurs when another car pulls out of it's parking spot alongside the curb and straight into your path. The solution is to slow down on small residential streets that feature columns of parked cars along either curb. Adjust your road position so that you drive in the further lane, or on the far end of your own lane. If there are columns of cars on both sides, drive in the center of the lane. Use day-running lights to help other drivers see you. Sound the horn lightly if you really find it necessary.

Identify all signs that might indicate that a car is about to pull out:

- Driver Inside car

- People around or near the car or inside it

- Open driver's window

- Car lights or parking lights

- Exhaust fumes (more visible in cold weather)
- Type of car: Is it a taxi or bus?
- Location of parking: Is it an unusual parking spot (or illegal one) which might make the driver hurry to come out of it?

- Wheels turned sharply towards the road

- Car in an unnatural position

- Engine sound: In good weather, prefer driving on such roads with an open window. Even in the summer or cold wind, keep a small crack open.

This kind of collision can also occur with a car that pulled over on the highway. Perhaps this is a good time to explain that you should never stop to essist another driver in this condition (unless there was a collision with injured people and you are one of the first people on the scene). If you see a car stopped on the shoulder of the highway, lift off of the gas to slow down slightly, use your signals and starddle towards the far edge of the lane or even more over by one lane. This reduces the risk of hitting the other car if it pulls back onto the road (or opens a door), but also makes other drivers more aware and help keep the stopped driver safer.

Cars Pulling across a Junction
At a junction or interchange, as well as filling stations, another car to either of your sides can suddenly try to pull in and cross your path. The solution is to notice any signs of erratic driving and let cars in the adjecent lanes to gain on you as to be far ahead of you or to your back. Keep right, and try to maintain an open "escape route" to the left and/or a gap from the car behind.

Pedestrian to-Car Contact

A major figure of fatalities in road collisions are actually simply pedestrians (including people killed on the hard shoulder of the highway) that got run over, especially children and elderly, mostly men. These can cross the road at the most uncomfortable times, but there are ways of dealing with them. The first rule is to adjust your speed:  Don't speed in towns. "Speeding" does not relate merely to the sign, the appropriate might be well below that speed limit, and it will constantly change, but will rarely be anything above 30mph (which are 50km/h). Even 5km/h differences can be crucial in towns.

You need to adjust your speed so that can stop "Well-within the distance you see to be clear, and that you know would remain clear." Slow down around schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, or any area where presence of children is anticipated or seen. In such areas, limit yourself to a maximum speed limit of 30km/h. The appropriate speed might be well below this limit: You might need to drive at 25km/h, 10km/h or even crawl along in a mere 5km/h and even stop where you find it appropriate.

Always slow down slightly in front of crosswalks, even when there are no pedestrians in sight. Scan the pavement for pedestrians and for obstructions that might hide one, like standing cars or a bus which might have just dropped some passengers onto the sidewalk. If you are tailgated, you only real option is drive ever more slowly (as instructed earlier) so you do not need to react very dramatically to situations ahead, and risk getting rear-ended.

Where there is a great risk of contact with pedestrians, choose to position your car in the center of the lane, for better visibility for yourself, for the pedestrians who need to see you and for other cars around you to see around you and notice the pedetrian too. Daytime running lights help a lot in reducing collisions involving "peds." Being courtious to pedestrians is a good thing but, if a car is following too closely behind you, it might be best not to be as courtious, as the car behind might hit you or worst, overtake you and hit the pedestrian.

If you do stop for a pedestrain (in case he set foot on the crosswalk, where you must yield to him), stop your car a few feet early in front of the crosswalk and stand in the middle of the lane. You could maintain a run-off area in case a driver behind has trouble stopping, you can avoid being disludged onto the pedestrian in the case of a hit, and you can allow for the following driver to notice the pedestrian and avoid that dangerous overtake. If the driver behind seems erratic, I would even consider swerving slightly to the left to "protect" the pedestrian.

Frontal Collisions


Frontal Pile-Up
If the car ahead of you is involved in a collsion and gets stopped, your following distance of two seconds in not likely to suffice. So, the solution is to look far ahead, beyond or through the leading car and anticipate the conditions ahead. If in doubt, increase the following distance slightly. Hang well back behind big vehicles that pose an obstruction and position yourself lateraly to get a glimpse around them. Work on overtaking problematic drivers. If you must, you can brake and than eventually steer if the stopping distance does not suffice.

Hitting Fallen Goods
The "classic" kind of emergency braking is said to occur when a driver following a truck is tackled by goods fallen off of the truck in front. This situation can be prevented by maintaining a larger following distance (three seconds on a dry road) which will improve your vision around the big vehicle and give you the chance to avoid hitting his fallen goods or at least reduce speed before hitting it. Look at the load on the car and identify dangerous situations: How much is it moving around in corners, while slowing down or when the vehicle goes over a bump? how tight is the harnessing? is the loading platform closed? is it stacked up high? Does it seem overloaded? Try to overtake and get away from such vehicles, or maintain a large following distance with an escape route to one side.

The Open Door
Another kind of collision occurs with an open door. Anticipate the risk of a driver or passenger opening his/her door over you: This normally occurs when the driver has just stopped for a red light, traffic queue or when he just now pulled over. Notify drivers that appear to be uneasy in their cars when stopped. Keep a sufficient gap from other cars in the adjecent lanes.

Lateral Collisions

How can you avoid a car from the near lane from swerving at you? The first moves are to drive in the speed which suits the conditions and the flow of traffic around you. Likewise, you need to monitor your mirrors (in the manner I stated earlier) and be aware of what it around you. But the main point is about space management and your road position. The road position should allow sufficient following distances from the car ahead and behind. Additionally, it should allow clearance from cars in adjacent lanes. 

The simple solution is to follow the legal requirement to stick right: Stay in the right lane (left, in countries such as the UK) and in the right side of the lane itself. If you are in the far left lane, stick far left. In the lanes in between, drive in the center of the lane. This gives you extra clearance from parallel cars, opens a free path for motorcycles, and allows faster cars to overtake you more easily. It keeps the escape route to the right (towards the shoulder) more accessible and can even improve road holding. 

Avoiding being in another car's blind spot. Your own car's mirrors should be adjusted so that there is no blind spot besides you, but another car's mirrors might not be that well aligned. The resultant blind spot would be between the car's rear door and a few feet to the back of the car. Do not stand in that position alongside another car: Either be behind it or fully parallel to it. In any case where you move out of the right lane, return to it as early as possible and try to keep an open escape route on one side, don't let yourself get pinned between two cars on both sides. Identify erratic drivers and starddle away from them or warn them with your horn.

When approaching an interchange or where the number of lanes is reduced, or any other area where traffic is likely to enter the road, turn or switch lanes inattentively, try to move to one lane to the left. This makes it easier for those cars to merge into traffic, and keeps you from being side swiped by one of the cars. In any case, remain vigilant and try to keep an "escape" route to the left so there is no car alongside you in third lane. Daytime running lights (either an additional set of lights mounted on the car or simply turning on the car's lights on the day) can help too.

A few other rules:

• Drive on the right lane. Remember: There is no "middle lane" -- there is a right lane and the rest are left lanes for overtaking, NOT for driving (unless the right hand lane is problematic due to very slow trucks or parked vehicles in urban roads.)
• Reduce the amount of lane changes and passing moves
• Especially avoid overtaking cars (particularly trucks) to their right.
• Create eye contact via the mirror with a problematic driver or honk your horn very briefly. If you cannot see the driver, he probably cannot see you. If you follow a car in front and see the driver in his side mirrors -- this driver has misaligned mirrors and big blindspots alongside his car.
• Look far ahead
• When you get on the slip road, roll slowly onto it, use it's WHOLE length to accelerate and match your speed to that of traffic besides you and merge in smoothly and without interference. If you can't, you should even stop at the end of the slip road and look for the right moment to merge.
• In many countries, there is a policy where the drivers on the flowing lane allow the traffic from the slip-road or blocked lane to "zip in" so each car allows one single car to merge in front of it. Be aware of this and try to uphold this technique yourself when you merge or let others merge.
• When you enter a deceleration lane, try not to slow down before you are inside the actual deceleration lane. This is only possible when the lane is clear and long enough.

High Winds
Winds can cause a side force that can divert a car from it's path of travel. The solutions include: Avoiding trips that are not necessary when the weather forecast predicts particularly strong winds. Reduce speed and adjust the road position relative to the direction of the wind, while being cautious around heavy traffic, oncoming traffic and where a narrow roadway "opens up" (creates a sudden wind blow), all while ensuring proper seating position and steering grip at 9 and 3 with the thumbs inside the wheel for good control.


Sliding

Many accidents that involve sliding are not caused by coarse handling or excessive speed, but rather due to a tightening bend or something slippery on the pavement.

Tightening bends
Tightening bends can be predicted quite easily: Approach the bend from the far side of your lane to gain that extra few feet of vision further into the bend and remain on the outside until you see the corner starting to wind out. Enter the bend slowly and smoothly, without braking your way through the bend: Brake in a straight line and keep the slightest pressure on the brakes coming into the corner.

Anticipate the possibility of a tightening radius by detecting tire marks, grooves on the pavement, identifying the corner through the tree line or the line formed by the lamps or telegraph poles, etc. Remember, the thing that awaits around the bend is the thing you didn't possibly believe could be there. If a car ploughs through your route in such a bend, you can brake (if you turning left) or veer right (if you are turning right) towards the shoulder. The car is going to lean on the outside wheels so that you drop the inside wheels off of pavement and make it around the oncoming vehicle.

Grease poured over the pavement/Ice patches

The other case is when something slippery like grease has been poured over the pavement. The solution here is to "read" the road surface by looking far ahead and anticipating any "brightness" and colors that might indicate a big sheen of oil or a patch of ice (anticipate unmolten ice in tree shade or under wet areas of the road). Start slowing down moderately. If you do identify it as a patch of ice or pool of mud or grease, do whatever you can to slow down or even stop before it. Consider traffic behind you too: If the traffic behind is pressing, maybe you can pull over the shoulder while braking? If stopping before it is not possible, try to slow down as best as possible and work your way around it. If you can't get around it, try to drive over it as slowly as possible and as straight as possible - with the steering pointing straight, but be prepared to the possibility of sliding. This will reduce your reaction time if  a slide does occur. 

This will either prevent the skid or reduce it's effect. If you do start sliding, your car's stability control (ESP) can help you recover if you keep steering in the right direction (feet off of the pedals). If you don't have such a system in your car (and you should have!) your best solution -- unless you are highly trained in skid control -- is to brake hard. If you have done anything possible to reduce speed and drive straight, you should be able to stop the slide before hitting anything, or even get the car back under your control by braking. Even if you do slide and hit something, it will be at an utter crawling pace.

Potholes
The same steps can be taken to get over a crack of the road or a pothole. You can also anticipate potholes in advance by detecting "alligator cracks" in the pavement and "patches" over the road surface. In that case, move your thumbs so that they are placed on the face of the wheel and not inside it, as a pothole could cause injury to the thumbs. Look far ahead and anticipate the pothole.

The Head On Collision

By far the most dangerous kind of collision caused by another driver. These crashes occur on two-lane roadways, where traffic in both directions is moving in fast speeds without much gap between them. One car than swerves due to a distraction or fatigue. Another reason can be when a car slides out of a corner, but that's less likely, many such collisions actually occur when the driver first swerves right due to a distraction or fatigue, gets near a guardrail or drops the right wheels unto the gravel shoulder, and than panics and pulls back left sharply. This can cause him to over-correct and move onto oncoming traffic. This is especially true when there is a gravel shoulder, and the sharp steering combined with the split grip makes the car slide.

The force of such a collision is immense, since it is calculated as a combination of the speeds of both cars. Some of the force is dissipated over the crumple zones of both cars (unlike hitting a rigid object like a tree or pole), but the net force is stronger and more dangerous than in any kind of collision, especially when one of the vehicles involved in a heavy vehicle like a truck or Jeep.

The way to prevent this begins with recognising the risk involved in driving two-lane roadways. If possible, choose to drive in open highways, where there are several lanes and a median between the two directions of traffic. If you must drive on such a road, it's best not to get involed in rush hours, or in hours prone to fatigue related collisions (night or early morning). Maintain the car, as you should towards any drive: Good tires, tire pressure and dampers make the car much more responsible at the time of need. Maintain complete and full focus through avoiding any kind of distraction: be it your kids, the phone or what not. Take frequent breaks, once every hour and maintain an upright, vigilant driving position (as always) for better response times, greater  alertness and better safety in a collision.

Always use your lights in daytime on such roads, to improve visibility (helping other drivers see you). Adjust a safe speed: Speeding in such roads is dangerous. "Speeding" does not refer merely to the legal limit, but also to the reasonable condition: Sometimes it will be best to drive even slower than the nominal limit. If the road is wet or if visibility is in any way impaired reduce speed. Speed reduction in the wet should be about 20%, and more if you get the sense that it's greasy or muddy. You should also reduce speed when driving at the dusk, late afternoon or night.

Adjust your following distance from cars ahead and behind, but also to the side -- 360 degrees. Stick right (left, on countries like the UK). This will built a gap from overtaking or oncoming traffic, improve the vision of cars behind you and allow them to overtake you more easily, and allow you to pull to the right shoulder more quickly upon need. Look far ahead and detect any oncoming driver, bend or any other hazard - as early as possible.

Corners
Head-on collisions that occur over bendy roads are actually not that common, but you must watch out. The danger normally exists around downhill bends after a long straight, especially when a heavy vehicle is involved. When turning right, an oncoming vehicle ploughing in quickly and entering the bend early, brakes and tightens up too much towards the inside lane and at you, either when he enters the bend (when you exit it) or about half-way through.

In a left hander, the car in the tighter radius might develop in the understeer that will cause it to plough towards your vehicle, usually when you are still on the straight or around the turn-in point. Be carefull around such bends, even if they are open. Make sure that oncoming traffic is slowing down and try to slow down more when a suspicious vehicle is seen approaching. Manage your deceleration so you let him complete his turn before you reach it.

Slow down more before bends if you see or hear a car hurtling at speed towards the bend. If in doubt, sound your horn or use your high beams (at night). Don't be too slow coming into corners at this will also leave you voulnrable. Look ahead through the corner, if it means looking aside through the window and not the windshield. Brake before the corner, but keeping covering the brakes slightly when you enter the corner. In left-hand bends (right, in left-driving countries) let off of the braks and coast through part of the turn, so you are equally ready to brake or accelerate in order to move out of the way of oncoming traffic.

This description is based on driving on the right side of the road: For a right-hander: Stay in your own lane. Drive approximately in the middle of the lane for good vision, but also to avoid being too close to oncoming traffic. Stay in the middle of the lane untill the bend starting winding up, and keep the brakes on during that stage. If a car cuts the road and heads at you, brake while pulling further right. Your inside wheels will be irrelevant to the cornering manuever (due to the weight transfer to the outside wheels) so you can even drop the right side of the car down to the gravel, without being in a serious risk. Slow down and get back onto the road GRADUALLY and without panicing.

In a left hander, take the widest line possible by approaching the corner from the far left end of the lane. Stay in the "high side" untill you can see the corner winding up. If the corner is tight and blind, wait for a very late stage and than turn the wheel decisively in one "go" once you can see through the corner. You comrpomise the smoothness of turning the car in, but you earn better vision around the bend. This is only a last-option resort. If another car does swerve at you, brake (or accelerate, what ever is necessary) and turn the wheel to get around the oncoming vehicle, or even hit something solid off of the road instead of hitting the other car.

Try to keep an escape route to the right, but in some mountain roads, this might not be an option and the situations involved in such roads might also be problematic. The road itself should be at least as wide as four cars, allowing some room to try and get around the oncoming car, but be aware of the possibility of having to veer left instead of right.


The Gravel Shoulder
I've stated one of the reasons of a head-on collisions as being a panic "off-road recovery." Due to a distraction inside the car to the right of the driver, or because of fatigue and often an effect of alcohol -- or when the driver avoiding another driver in front, he might drift right to a point where the right side of the car drops down to the gravel shoulder. This results in a stressfull situation where the car is not standing on a leveled surface and the two wheels on each sides don't give the same amount of grip (because two are on gravel). The driver panics, veers sharply back unto the road and slides across the road or simply over-corrects and again gets to the other side of the road.

The solution is to calm down. The situation is not dangerous by itself. You should be able to slow down gently and than get gently back onto the road (while making sure it's clear in the mirror). For this to be possible, the height differences between the actual road and the gravel should no be too big, if it is, slow down more and look for a point where it "levels out" again. Sometimes, however, an obstruction might be present, making you stop quickly. If you need to stop really quickly, tread on the brakes. A car with ABS should not suffer from a lack of stability in this situation. A car without ABS is likely to remain relatively stable too, so long as you tread the pedal rapidly.

Overtaking

The golden rule is that "It's never wrong not to overtake." Overtaking is a complex task with high risks involved and not much to gain. However, performing a few overtakes is fine, if you follow the right technique. One driving style involves following the lead car closely and than moving unto a "stand off" position in the near lane and accelerating forward and around it with as little space to cover in the other lane. The technique I apply is different (although I ocassionaly resort to the other driving style too).

It involves following the driver in front in a reasonable following distance while sticking to the left end of the lane: The safe distance from the car ahead is generally maintained and you also gain better vision in front. Your position to the left end of your own lane also improves the vision of oncoming drivers at you and the awareness of the driver you are about to overtake and any following driver that might be considering or attempting an overtake over you. The next step is to start accelerating as strong as possible and this is the great advantage of this style: By maintaining a reasonable following distance you have more grounds to cover, but you can begin to accelerate in your own lane, close in on the car in front and (still at a safe distance) get around it and in front (with a safe margin).

The last advantage is the ability to abort: You have enough space to abort at will and return to your normal position. You could also do this before any following driver has a chance of "filling the gap" and block your way back. The very awareness to the ability of aborting is important: Most drivers feel committed to the overtake. This creates stress and increases the risk. If a driver is aware of the possibility to abort under the slightest of doubts, he will make safer and more relaxed overtakes.

Even if you are in the middle of an overtake and you somehow found yourself facing a head-on collision, you can slam on the brakes (emergency braking) which will allow the overtaken car to quickly pass you and enable you to return to your own lane.

Avoiding a head-on collision

The other kind of collision will occur when it is the other driver who performs an inattentive overtake, or due to other reasons mentioned earlier. The driver will swerve into your lane in spite of your efforts at avoiding it. Your first choice is to detect any driver that is likely to make this happen: Look far ahead and detect any driver who seems erratic, abnormally fast, distracted (car seems to "wiggle" along the lane) or aggresive. Also look out for slow cars in the opposite traffic, a car that pulled over to the other side of the road or any kind of obstruction that might cause another driver to swerve at you. In these situations, reduce speed further, stick far right, even drop slightly to the hard-shoulder (if there is one), "hint" the brakes and flash your high beams briefly.

Always have an escape route in mind. In the road has wide, safe shoulders to veer at, than you could use them if a car swerves at you. Veer right and slow down sharply. However, many two-lane roadways have a narrow shoulder, where going right off at speed is not going to be safe. In this case, if another driver does stumble in your path, despite of all your countermeasures, you still have a choice. The first thing to do is to wipe off speed by performing emergency braking. The hard braking would "grant" you with more time to react and consider what to do. It will similarily grant more reaction time to the driver ahead, allowing him to return to his lane or at least to wipe off considerable speed too. The reduced speed will help you in swerving, if required, and will reduce the outcomes of any kind of collision that will occur as a result of the situation.

It's advised to hang onto the brakes for as long as practically possible. Brake in a straight line and give the other driver a chance to return to his/her lane. If you reach a point of "no return" where it's clear that he isn't going to make it in time, you need to react and veer right. Two-lane roadways are intentionally devised so that the width of the two lanes is enough to hold four cars alongside each other, not including the paved shoulder or even the gravel shoulder beyond it. If you manage to shift your focus you might very well make it around the oncoming vehicle.

Even if you don't make it around it, any impact with something alongside the road or off of it is going to be much more sympethetic than hitting the oncoming vehicle, and you will also bring the passengers of the other car out of harm's way. Under these conditions, you should be able to reduce speed and reduce the force of the collision to a relativelly low frequency. In a car with good crash ratings the ordeal can be relativelly easy.

Car Break Down

These collisions involve blaming the car itself for "not stopping", suffering from brake failure or stuck throttle or what not. Collisions involved with such circumstances are normally easy to avoid. The first way to prevent them is proper maintainence:

1. Replace tires in foursomes every three years (four at the very most) or 70,000km (80,000 at most) -- which ever of the two comes earlier. Replace them regardless of milleage or age if they show any kind of damage. Tires should also be replaced if their tread depth goes below 3-4 milimeters (depending on the amount of rain in your country).

2. Choose quality tires from a known tire brand and not from mysterious, unheared manufacturers. Use snow tires in the snow and summer tires in the dry season, never the other way around.

3. Rotate tires every 8,000 to 15,000km as a rule of thumb.

4. Check inflation pressures when cold, once every two weeks and the spare tire once a month at the very most. Inflate hot tires by an extra 10% at least. When loaded with passengers or cargo, inflate tires with higher pressures depending on the manufacturer's recommendation. If in doubt, always prefer to slightly over-inflate your tires over the risk of driving them under-inflated.

5. Before any drive, make a short visual inspection of all four tires (it only takes a quick minute) for scuffs, cuts, nails and wear.

6. Replace dampers every 80,000km as a rule of thumb. Earlier if they worked hard or if they feel or look worn, later if they were not laboured during your driving and still function normally. In that case, the damper should be be replaced at the maximum limit of 120,000km regardless of any other consideration.

7. Maintain your brakes in the periodic treatments of the car. In particular, replace the brake fluid once every two to three years. 

This kind of maintainence might seem strict but it's in fact much less strict than what some experts and trainers I've seen recommend or practice. They are reasonable standards that will give your car good grip and reduced risk of sliding or blowing up a tire or causing the brakes to fade, as well as grant you are car that stops very quickly in the circumstances of an emergency stop. The effect is hugh!

Tire blowouts
are not that dramatic of a breakdown: They are a result of excessive heat build-up inside the tire. This is normally created when the tire is underinflated and also when the car is loaded with cargo or passengers (usually in family weekend trips during the spring), and driven at speed for a long duration of time over a hot road surface. The tire builds up heat that causes internal wear and, with under-inflated tires (even by a mere 7%) and old tires (from an age of three years and onward) could burst.

So, the rules of maintainence above should rid you of the risk of a blowout. We can also add the following pieces of advice:

- Avoid unnecessary load inside the car. Disperse the load inside the car so that is does not rest too heavily one just one side. Fit the heavy luggage as forward as you can the trunk: Just behind the rear seats. This reduces the damage they can create in a collision, and makes them pose less of a load unto the tires and car.

- Avoiding driving too quickly. In very fast speeds, it's advised to drive with a higher tire pressure (up to 3 additional PSIG). Overinflation reduces the chance of a blow-out, not increases it! 50 to 60mph is reasonable.

- Make frequent breaks: In drives of two hours and more, stop once every hour or so for about ten minutes. This frequency of breaking is not only good for your concentration and body, but also offers a bit of precious cool down for the tires and engine. Heat build up usually reaches critical levels within an hour to two hours.

If a tire does blow out, even in the rear, there is no "rule of nature" that says that the car will spin. It might very well remain under your control, in which case you can hold the wheel steady, brake gently to reduce speed and try to find a safe stopping place which is completly segregated from the road (as opposed to simply pulling over on the shoulder of the road). If you can't find one, pull over in the safest place possible, as far from the road, and exit the car and go over the guardrail (follow the instructions mentioned earlier). Do not try to replace the wheel by yourself, as you will be unable to respond to any hazard and will be in an extremlly voulnrable situation, even if the blown tire is not facing the road. Even if the car does lose stability and begins to spin, you can brake hard to stop it bring it back under your control or at least make it crash at a slow velocity. Afterwards follow the relevant instructions above.

Faulty brakes
The fear of faded brakes is a hollywood induced one. In modern cars, the brakes are amasingly durable and will not fade if maintained in the most basic manner and not misused. Even when they do experience fade, they will normallly still supply you with some braking force, often a quite substantial one. Brake fade can occur due to several reasons, and I will take you into three of the most likely:

1. Brake Fade due to Heat:
This happens when the brakes are intensivelly used, mainly on the track. On the road, the reason for such brake fade is when the brakes the brakes are applied constantly, even with very light pressure, for a long duration of time. This prevents the brakes from cooling down and builds up heat. This occurs to heavy rigs when they brake over a long distance, or to private cars when you go down a long downhill road "riding the brakes."

Rigs will normally have a veriety of engine braking mechanisms at their disposal (Jake Brake, Exhaust Brake, Retarder, etc...), but normal drivers also have something to do. Their choice, in long downhill roads, is to use the brakes only to set the car to the speed they want, and not to maintain it in that speed. Maintaining the speed is up to the engine. So, you slow down with the brakes to the right speed and than set the car in a low gear that will keep it at that speed. In fact, the gear should be low enough so that, if you don't press the gas, the car will want to slow down even more, so you need to keep your foot slightly on the power to keep the car at a constant speed (even though it's downhill). This gives you the same control, via your right foot, as you would have on a plain road.

In general, long braking areas, even on plain roads, should not be dealt with too softly: Yes, you need to brake lightly to avoid jerking the car, wearing the brake pads and manage the traffic behind, but you don't need to press the brake too softly. Instead, ease off of the gas early, let the car slow down some with it's engine braking. When you begin to apply the brakes, apply them moderatly for a slow, gradual reduction of speed but not one that is too long, and ease off once or twice across the length of the braking zone to offer it a bit of additional cool down. When you first apply the brakes, realise that it takes about 0.2 of a second for a hydraulic brake to respond (and 0.5 with a pneumatic brake on trucks), so start pressing the brakes a moment "too soon" to "hint" the braking system. Do not sequently downshift the gears to avoid in slowing down. Just brake, and when the revs drop, declutch and set it to the finite gear required (in a manual transmission).

If the brakes do heat up due to some reason, use the engine braking to slow down the car but keep it moving without braking. This will cool down the brakes very effectivelly and they might return to nearly full efficiency after the cool down again. This also offers you the chance of finding a reasonable stopping place and not simply pulling over on the shoulder. When stopped with hot brakes, do not apply the handbrake or footbrake, as they might cause irreversable damage to the brakes.

2. Brake Fade due to Moist: 
This is much more simple of a malfunction to deal with: As you enter a puddle in the winter, moist might cover your brakes and reduce their efficiency. So, after you exit a puddle, lightly dab the brakes twice or three times to get a feel of the brakes and realize whether of not their efficiency has been reduced. If you do sense some fade, dab the brakes a few more times, a bit more powerfully and with more sustained pressure, to dry them out. Simple.

3. Brake Fade due to Hydraulic Depressurization: 
This is what people fear of but it's extremly uncommon. The brakes themsevles fail and the pedal drops down and loses "feel." In this case, you can still slow down the car with the engine braking, and you can also use the handbrake (gently). Other ways of slowing down include using the aerodynamic drag by opening up the windows, and steering drag by slightly sawing the wheel from side to side. Also, even in the case of such a failure, you are unlikely to lose your whole braking force in one blow. Try to build up pressure: Dab the brakes once. If it does not help, pump the pedal steadily for a few times and than squeeze the pedal down progressively and try to excert whatever stopping force you still have. If the situation can be contained by using these measures, look for a safe place to stop.

If brake fade is a holywood-induced fear, than the story of the sticking gas pedal is simply a case of mass hysteria. Gas pedal can stick in all cars, not just Toyota. It can happen (and has happened earlier than the Toyota recall) when the carpet or loose objects in the car block the pedal, or when the gas cable is old and rusty and gets clamped. There can also be a malfunction with a car's cruise control.

This is extremlly easy to resolve: Your engine is accelerating, but that does not mean that the car must accelerate too. Simply disconnect the wheels from the engine. In an automatic, flick the transmission into neutral (you don't even need to press on the button). In a manual transmission, declutch. Try to reach a safe place to stop. If, for some reason, this does not work, than the next step is simply to brake. Brakes in modern cars are going to be atleast four times as strong as the engine. Even if the pedal sticks with the throttle FULLY opened, a decisive tread of the brake pedal could stop the car surprisingly quickly, even on a downhil slope or with slightly worn brakes.

The problem is that people don't press hard enough, and they end up creating brake fade (due to heat). The problem is intensified in a petrol-fueled engines, where the fuel intake reduces the vacuum buildup in the brake booster, so the brake pedal feels heavier. This, however, does not reduce the stopping force of the brakes by the slightest bit! It simply requires a bit more force to be applied against the pedal. The very act of braking might jerk a clamped cable free or move an obstruction that blocks the pedal. In the case of cruise control, the brakes will also disconnect the system and in cars with an electronic throttle body, the brakes will  disconnect fuel supply to the engine.

If, for some reason, the brakes don't stop the car in time, you can also use the handbrake gently. If none of these solutions work, you have to shut down the engine. This should only be your last resort. Shutting down the engine will make the pedal and steering wheel harder to turn/press, even though both will be fully operatable. It will also disable airbags! So long as the key is in the ignition, you should not experience wheel lock. In any case, when your car is rolling to a final stop, turn off the engine as it might be damaged when the throttle is jammed open when the car is idling.

Summary

Do not blame the other driver. Instead, take responsibility and accep that it does not matter whose fault it is: It's the health problems, lost of human life and financial problems involving car collisions that are really important. You cannot entrust your fate and safety on the road to another driver. Dozens of drivers are going to be on your tail or stop behind you at every drive, and they will all be foreign to you. Can you really trust all of these drivers with your car and your life and the life of your passengers? No!

Your only choice is to appreciate the risks involved in situation that you might thought were safe: Crossing an intersection when green, stopping on the road for traffic lights; jams or signs; Driving over interchanges and alike, and invest enough skill and concentration to compensate for any lacking of these two elements amongst the other drivers. You can always do something and you even in the most extreme situations you should be able to make the crash very light, if not prevent it completly.