Yo steve,

here's my mantra for other people
( do it myself, of course )

Try to drive AWAY from the other cars ! !

you don't drive alongside a big trucks, right ?
ever see tread pieces in the road from big trucks
  - they must fly off there violently .

you don't get in front of big trucks for long, right.
Much safer to have one in front of you where you can outbrake him.

Good thinking with your driving.
If only everyone thought like that,
there'd be 80 % less accidents.

I  figure most people are thinking about their driving and the state of
their car about as much as I think about my refrigerator while I'm
driving.

I would say that ALL accidents are perventable,
whether that's in following too close,
speeding, not seeing someone, driving carelessly,
or not maintaining the vehicle properly.

I told that to a cop and he said,
well, rocks falling onto the road - that's an example of an accident that
was not preventable.
 - not true, the potential rockslide could have been noticed and dealt
with - but then I think of an earthquake, and besides staying in bed, I
guess an earthquake-induced accident might not be preventable.

What do you think of this :
the ESSENCE, the ESSENTIAL reason accidents happen is that SOMETHINGS
HAPPENS FASTER than you can deal with it.
Like you only have 2/10's of a second to avoid that other vehicle or
tree, but you and your vehicle need 2 full seconds to react and respond.

I have the most concern about a head-on, like some idiot is coming across
the center-line of a two lane road
and I have 1/100 of a second to react, which is totally inadequate, or
course, plus a closing speed of a 100 mph.

I'm replying to you and also putting the list in the address.  Hope it's
allright.

  Scott