applying your smart driving skills Strategies: when an animal is in your path  If an animal is directly in front of you:  • Check your rear‑view mirror to see if there is a vehicle  behind you, or if you can stop suddenly.  • Assess the risks and decide on an action. Can you stop  safely? Can you steer around the animal? Would it be  better to hit the animal or risk a crash?  • Slow down but resist the urge to slam on your brakes  when you see an animal. This could send your vehicle  out of control.  • Leave a wide margin when you drive around an animal.  A frightened animal may run in any direction.  • If the animal is large and you can’t stop in time, brake  firmly and steer to strike the animal at an angle. Let up  on the brake pedal just before hitting the animal. This will cause the front of your vehicle to rise and  reduce the chance that the animal will come through the windshield. Collision avoidance You in the driver’s seat You’re driving up a hill. Suddenly a car is coming right  toward you in your lane.  What should you do?  No one wants to be involved in a collision, but you may find  yourself in a situation where one is unavoidable. The best  way to avoid collisions is to use your  see-think-do  skills. Keep  yourself alert, scan systematically, maintain good space margins  and travel at the appropriate speed. These steps will help you  avoid most collisions.  Even if you’re faced with an unavoidable collision, you can  sometimes reduce the impact. But you will need to think quickly  to do this. 130