Mitch Haley wrote:
I first read that in a motorcycle magazine when I was a teenager. Having a preplanned strategy for "if this bozo tries to kill me" does work. When the other driver does try to kill me, my contingency plan is implemented faster than I can think.
There's a related saying, in aviation, that "you should never let an airplane take you somewhere that your mind didn't get to five minutes ago." In driving our time horizons are measured in seconds instead of minutes, but we still need to plan ahead.
For example, most people fail to consider their sight distance when setting their speed. What if that blind curve or that rise in the road hides a downed tree, a washout, or a stalled car? I learned this lesson as a young driver when I blasted around a curve at 60 mph and found a tractor on the other side doing 15 mph in my lane. Scared the crap out of me. Now I don't do that anymore.
