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It’s an absurd statement anyway. It informs you of what other traffic is doing, where you can safely expect to maneuver in an emergency, and etc. In one case,

It’s an absurd statement anyway. It informs you of what other traffic is doing, where you can safely expect to maneuver in an emergency, and etc. In one case, I’d say checking my rearview was worth thousands of dollars and maybe three lives. When approaching a crosswalk and reducing my speed to stop for pedestrians I saw clearly the guy behind me wasn’t going to stop (he maintained his speed and was looking down, probably texting). I honked and flashed to warn the pedestrians who stayed out of the crosswalk. Then I took my foot off the brake as the other car hit me. The damage was minimal because I just let him push me. I pulled into a nearby parking lot. The other guy took off without stopping. It was a new car so no rear plate. If I hadn’t looked I’d have tried to stop, been pushed into the pedestrians anyway unless they noticed on their own, and my car would likely have been totaled.

Retric 7y ago
That does not support ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. Defensive techniques like slowing down when someone tailgates you are useful, but usually looking behind before and accident doesn’t enable you to do anything useful. Also, talking your foot off the break increased the risk in that accident. If the driver had swerved at the last second they could have sent your car into the pedestrians you where trying to protect. In a rear end collision momentum pulls your foot from the peddle. So, you want to be hard breaking at the moment of impact to minimize the distance you move post collision. Honking may have been useful, however unless you gave then ~2+ seconds of warning it was probably futile. Walking speed may be 4.5 feet per second, but acceleration and reaction times are not instantaneous.
- cgriswald 7y ago
  > That does not support ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. No one suggested doing anything of the kind. Regarding my collision, you're just making stuff up.
  - Retric 7y ago
    > No one suggested doing anything of the kind. That was the OP situation. > Oh, and I just completed my regular mirror check, and so I don't know how long the yellow has been up. Do I stop or continue on? As to breaking, or saving the car: https://www.cartalk.com/content/bracing-impact-it-better-brake https://www.cartalk.com/content/bracing-impact-it-better-bra... On it’s own that’s not going to make a huge difference, but I have seen recommendations to apply the parking break for similar reasons.
    - cgriswald 7y ago
      > ...ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. > Oh, and I just completed my regular mirror check, and so I don't know how long the yellow has been up. Do I stop or continue on? These statements are not describing the same activity. > As to breaking, or saving the car: Your link agrees with me. Read Tom's last paragraph. There was no traffic in front of me. The pedestrians were safely off the road because I honked and flashed. In the case that the pedestrians had kept going, I'd have done things differently. But it doesn't matter; because the point isn't whether braking or not braking was the correct decision. The point is that by looking in the rear view mirror I became aware that a decision needed to be made.
      - Retric 7y ago
        > These statements are not describing the same activity. Yes they are. The window when the length of a yellow light matters is short. If check your rear view mirror right before the intersection then even if the light turns yellow that’s irrelevant you’re still going to cross. Alternatively, if you’re very far from the intersection, then not noticing a yellow light for ~2 seconds is irrelevant, you need to stop regardless of how long it’s been yellow at that point. The transition between those states is very rapid. > The pedestrians where safely off the road. There was still pedestrians around you. A rear end collision that’s directly bumper to bumper pushes you forward. But, it’s possible for someone to try and evade at the last second which means they and you go in some random direction, possibly onto a sidewalk or other objects near the road. Examples of off angle impacts with solid barriers: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/iihs-crash-tests-slam-some-popular-pickup-trucks.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/iihs-crash-tests-slam-some-p.... Though if these where cars the car would be violently pushed in the opposite direction. Various rear end collisions: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6QGx9d8ow https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6QGx9d8ow. Which show a wide range of possibilities. So, unless they where well behind you, picking your foot off the break was a poor choice for their safety.

Retric 7y ago

That does not support ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. Defensive techniques like slowing down when someone tailgates you are useful, but usually looking behind before and accident doesn’t enable you to do anything useful. Also, talking your foot off the break increased the risk in that accident. If the driver had swerved at the last second they could have sent your car into the pedestrians you where trying to protect. In a rear end collision momentum pulls your foot from the peddle. So, you want to be hard breaking at the moment of impact to minimize the distance you move post collision. Honking may have been useful, however unless you gave then ~2+ seconds of warning it was probably futile. Walking speed may be 4.5 feet per second, but acceleration and reaction times are not instantaneous.

cgriswald 7y ago
> That does not support ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. No one suggested doing anything of the kind. Regarding my collision, you're just making stuff up.
- Retric 7y ago
  > No one suggested doing anything of the kind. That was the OP situation. > Oh, and I just completed my regular mirror check, and so I don't know how long the yellow has been up. Do I stop or continue on? As to breaking, or saving the car: https://www.cartalk.com/content/bracing-impact-it-better-brake https://www.cartalk.com/content/bracing-impact-it-better-bra... On it’s own that’s not going to make a huge difference, but I have seen recommendations to apply the parking break for similar reasons.
  - cgriswald 7y ago
    > ...ignoring traffic lights during the most critical 5 seconds to look behind you. > Oh, and I just completed my regular mirror check, and so I don't know how long the yellow has been up. Do I stop or continue on? These statements are not describing the same activity. > As to breaking, or saving the car: Your link agrees with me. Read Tom's last paragraph. There was no traffic in front of me. The pedestrians were safely off the road because I honked and flashed. In the case that the pedestrians had kept going, I'd have done things differently. But it doesn't matter; because the point isn't whether braking or not braking was the correct decision. The point is that by looking in the rear view mirror I became aware that a decision needed to be made.
    - Retric 7y ago
      > These statements are not describing the same activity. Yes they are. The window when the length of a yellow light matters is short. If check your rear view mirror right before the intersection then even if the light turns yellow that’s irrelevant you’re still going to cross. Alternatively, if you’re very far from the intersection, then not noticing a yellow light for ~2 seconds is irrelevant, you need to stop regardless of how long it’s been yellow at that point. The transition between those states is very rapid. > The pedestrians where safely off the road. There was still pedestrians around you. A rear end collision that’s directly bumper to bumper pushes you forward. But, it’s possible for someone to try and evade at the last second which means they and you go in some random direction, possibly onto a sidewalk or other objects near the road. Examples of off angle impacts with solid barriers: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/iihs-crash-tests-slam-some-popular-pickup-trucks.html https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/iihs-crash-tests-slam-some-p.... Though if these where cars the car would be violently pushed in the opposite direction. Various rear end collisions: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6QGx9d8ow https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HD6QGx9d8ow. Which show a wide range of possibilities. So, unless they where well behind you, picking your foot off the break was a poor choice for their safety.