There was a horrific accident in my area this week.  It resulted in the serious injury of a mother and the unfortunate death of her child in the rear seat.

Local heros at the scene were able to extract the mother from the accident but were unable to extract the child who might have gone unnoticed due to the resulting fire.  It was an absolute tragedy.  Is was apparently a “Quick Swerve and Die" collision.

Driverthink had been planning to address the “Quick Swerve and Die” in a future article but this event refocused the priorities.

The Quick Swerve and Die road collision, is one of the most dangerous events you may ever face on the highway.  In many cases, it can be the last.  It almost always takes place on a highway where traffic is moving along and different factors contribute to it.  It isn’t (usually) caused by speeding.  It is almost always caused by a slower driver.  Most often, it is the slower vehicle together with one of the ones behind it, that fall victim.

Here’s how it unfolds.  It’s a two or three lane highway and traffic is moving along at normal speed.  Suddenly, a driver in one of the lanes comes up on a slow or stopped vehicle.  He didn’t see it in time to stop.  It may have been a blind curve, a down sloping hill (the apparent case in our recent tragedy) or simply lack of attention.

Nope.  He didn’t see it in time to stop – but he did see it in time to quickly swerve out of the lane and into another, thereby avoiding imminent disaster – at least for him!

Yup, now he’s okay.  But what about the car that was cruising along behind him?  She has absolutely no time to react and “Bang” – no more Sunday mornings.  For lack of a better term, I like to call this the “Quick Swerve and Die” collision.

There are multiple factors that will combine to quickly cause a Quick Swerve and Die situation.  Being aware of them, and of ways to anticipate the situation, can help us avoid this very serious collision.

The first factor is obviously the slower or stopped vehicle.  One might suggest that it is this vehicle that perpetrates the event.  He may be stopped because of traffic in his lane.  He may be driving slowly because of the driver in front of him, or she simply may be driving too slowly for current conditions.

The second factor is the car that was moving along behind the first.  For what ever reasons, he wasn’t able to avoid the event while staying in his lane.  While he may not have been speeding, he may not have been allowing adequate space in front of him either.  Perhaps he simply wasn’t paying attention or then again, it could have been completely out of his control. In any event, he suddenly came up on the slow or stopped vehicle and had no choice but to swerve out of the way.

The third factor is of course, the third car.  She too, may not have been paying attention, or she may have been driving too closely in back of the second car, but most likely – she wasn’t able to Forward Look.  She couldn’t see past the car in front of her for what ever reasons, until it swerved – and then it was simply too late.

Here are some serious thoughts on how to avoid a Quick Swerve and Die collision.

For the slower driver:

• If uncomfortable driving at normal highway speeds, find an alternative route.  Many do. It can save your life.

If you find yourself behind the slow driver or stopped traffic:

• Closely watch your rearview mirror.  If necessary you may want to flash your brake lights or even your four way emergency flashers to warn traffic behind you.

• Plan your emergency escape.  Can you quickly change lanes or even get off of the road if the car behind you – can’t stop without hitting you?

• If the car behind you suddenly swerves into another lane, take immediate action.  Do what ever you can to get out of the way of the next car in line.

If you are the third driver:

• Always try to Forward Look beyond the car in front of you.  If traffic in front of that car is slow or stopped – back it down.

• Watch for the swerve.  If you can’t Forward Look and/or you see the car ahead of you swerve, be prepared to take immediate evasive action.

• When you can’t Forward Look, be sure you leave some extra “safety cushion” distance between yourself and that car in front of you.

The Quick Swerve and Die.  Watch out for it.  Breathing is a nice thing! 

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