Safe Speed Forums

This one morning last week - just remembered to transcribe it.

I was approaching a (fairly busy) roundabout at low speed. Three lanes waiting to pull on to it - I was going for the middle one going straight over, and in "pole position". Noticed a half gap that ordinarily I'd never take - caught in the corner of my eye activity behind that, in that instant, I judged was going to hit either me or one of the cars to my right hand side. I booted it. The car coming around the roundabout only had to lift off and chink left a bit thanks to my powerful motor - but he DID have to lift off and chink left or he WOULD have clipped me. I was grateful he did as had there been a coming together it would have been caused by me - robbing Peter to pay Paul. I never had a chance to look back to see if the activity I'd seen behind me had resulted in a colision - or if it had been a trick of the light and nothing of consequence after all.

The thing here is... I don't think I made ANY conscious decisions here, other than the one to miss the half-sized gap - which my lizard brain overruled about 1/10th second later!

Sounds like a 'danger balancing' or 'risk minimising' decision.

I guess it's pretty intensely rational to take a 50% risk of a crash ahead to avoid a 100% risk of a crash behind. (Numbers for illustration, not an assessment of the risk in this case.)

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

BUT... the more I think back, whilst my splitsecond assessment was remarkably close to your 100/50, I wonder if in cold light it was actually 25/50 - and I involved (almost) an entirely innocent party in having to take (very minor) evasive action. Oh well.

i edited 26-6 to avoid inept use of "lizard brain"

On a point of order or definition, I'm finding that I have to analyse decision making on three levels these days:

- Conscious
- Subconscious
- Lizard

I'm sure the lizard brain provided its services in throttle and steering control, but I suggest that the risk assessment must take place at the higher subconscious level.

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Paul Smith
Our scrap speed cameras petition got over 28,000 sigs
The Safe Speed campaign demands a return to intelligent road safety

Agreed. I'll go back and edit my inept post.