Thank you, Skip Barber!

One of the skills we practiced in Skip Barber driving school is called the "lane toss". At the last second, based on a light signal, you must choose to swerve right or left to avoid the simulated sudden obstacle. Every time we do this in real life, and avoid a real accident, we are grateful for the practice, with only cones to run over and into if you make a mistake.

Last night, on the way home from work, I got to do not one but two lane tosses. While I was in the middle of three highway lanes, I suddenly heard tires screeching, saw brake lights coming on in the right lane, and saw multiple cars swerving into my lane. I knew there were no cars to my left, so I swerved into the left lane, avoiding whatever had caused the chaos in the right lanes. Then, within a couple hundred yards, I could see a lunch cooler bouncing across my lane! I have no idea where it came from, or if it was related to the earlier commotion, but once again I performed a lane toss onto the center shoulder and avoided hitting the cooler. I don't think the guy behind me was so lucky, because by the time I could look in my mirror, I saw pieces of plastic cooler bouncing around.

With the adrenaline pumping, I made it safely home. No white-tail deer tried to make it three in a row.

Lessons to remember:
- be aware of what's going on in the lanes on either side of you, so you can do a lane toss if needed
- leave a big enough gap between you and the car in front so that if they swerve to avoid an obstacle, you also have time to react and avoid the same obstacle
- know the capabilities of your brakes and tires (yes, we still practice these lane tosses, brake checks, etc.) and anticipate the need to use them