What to do if going to be rear-ended?

[campbeam]

In my email messages, I received the following question and answer post. I had been thinking about this scenario recently particularly about putting the transmission in neutral and a foot hard on the brake pedal and pushing back into the seat as the default option. 

https://www.quora.com/What-should-you-do-if-you-are-about-to-be-rear-ended-by-a-car-approaching-at-high-speed-while-stopped-behind-another-car-Should-you-jam-down-on-the-brakes-as-hard-as-you-can-Hold-brakes-lightly-Release-brakes 

Interesting comments because I usually stop with enough gap so I can see the car in front's rear tyres on the road surface so I can possibly go around if they break down etc.

Fortunately, I have only had one incident where I started to move into the oncoming lane; still got impacted but not too bad and no damage to me.

 

[Darui]

Try to relax in such cases. I used such thing like self psychology  Right before you do something that you feel nervous about, try a visualization exercise in which you replay a previous experience where you had an optimal level of energy, focus and achievement.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Darui

[ZZT86]

I've heard that if you see it about to happen, the body naturally tenses up to prevent whiplash etc, if relaxed then more bodily harm could be done.

My current thoughts on this are if a collision is inevitable, letting the car absorb the full impact means leaving your foot off the brakes & letting it roll forward = softer collision. If you can't see the tyres of the car in front then most likely a second impact will occur.

An impact at 100km/h would most likely be a write-off.

 

[Tony Prodigy]

23 hours ago, ZZT86 said:

I've heard that if you see it about to happen, the body naturally tenses up to prevent whiplash etc, if relaxed then more bodily harm could be done.

I tend to agree with that and it makes sense too. But the natural reaction would be to tense up. Presence of mind is a valuable thing in instances like this, especially if you see it coming. Generally the accidents you don't see coming, often have you limbered up and in most cases very minimal injuries occur depending on speed and place of impact, of course and airbags play a vital role in injury prevention.

We are lucky to have these 5 star ratings in the modern era. Modern cars are so much safer than those of yesteryear, that's for sure.

On 6/23/2022 at 12:32 PM, ZZT86 said:

letting the car absorb the full impact means leaving your foot off the brakes & letting it roll forward = softer collision.

I totally agree with that. The car will suffer both frontal and rear damage if pushed into the preceding car, which is why insurance is good to have in case the jackass who hit you hasn't any.