> nothing you or I should ever try when we're driving on the highway. I've done exactly that on highways and on non-controlled-access roads. It's not hard to k

> nothing you or I should ever try when we're driving on the highway. I've done exactly that on highways and on non-controlled-access roads. It's not hard to keep a mental model of nearby vehicles (look at mirrors, if you see a car disappear from them but not go in front of you they're in some blind spot. When I know I've been tip-top at keeping watch like that, I've done evasive manoeuvres into other lanes just based on that. If I've been shoddy with my situational awareness, I do a quick head turn while doing the swerving and am ready to bring myself back into my lane should there be a vehicle in the spot I want to occupy. Part of defensive driving is being proficient at swerving; as sharp decisive steering input can get you out of collisions that would be unavoidable via braking. Being able to swerve as fast as possible without losing control, on an open-loop basis (without needing feedback by looking at the road) and recovering is a useful skill to be confident in. I've practised swerving and thus can controllably and swiftly shift my car sideways and realign with my previous direction of travel -- it's not something I need to think about, it's as ingrained in my muscle memory as operating the pedals or the gearbox! A few weeks ago, I used that skill to avoid hitting a pedestrian who had ran onto the road (without warning) from behind a parked car on a rainy night when I was driving at 35mph. Given my reaction time and the time needed to take the foot off the throttle pedal and onto the brake, I'd still have hit them at ~25mph even with maximum braking effort -- there wasn't enough distance. Indeed, braking would have given them more time to get in front of me, as they didn't seem to be slowing down / stopping. "Possible hit at 35mph" vs "more probable hit at 25 mph" is one horrid dilemma! Given my (legal, albeit not so prudent) speed and how little warning I had (it was night and my driver's side window was covered in rain), when I first saw the pedestrian (through my windshield!), my immediate reaction was to swerve and not to brake. My steering input added a meter or so of space between my vehicle and that pedestrian. I did not hit anyone that night. Self-driving vehicles should be capable of that sort of performance as well! Braking is not always the best option.