Not a critique of the OP but I would have tried to maintain my direction while applying the brake.

I had a sad opportunity such as this a few years back in one of my E36. Someone ran a red light in front of me, looking back at the video of the intersection at the city Man I was so disappointed in myself.

Why?

The last thing I did was drive head on, I made the best attempt to steer away from the oncoming vehicle but funny enough he too was doing the same thing and we still ended up colliding.

So planning what to do and actually what you do are two different things.

Glad that OP made it out. It looks really bad but it seems that your car is a virgin as in it hasn't been panel beaten before and all airbags were still intact.

Siena: All those saying, this guy shouldn't have taken evasive action, he should have rammed the other car in the side, he should have tried braking, so he would have hit the other car at a lower speed should think again.

When a car appears from nowhere, and crams on the brakes in front of you, there is very little time to think. Hitting a car in the side - in this case, a door is a bad move. It is probably the weakest part of a car. Depending on the model, and country of origin, it MAY not have side impact beams. Or being Nigeria, they could have been removed during body repair, and never refitted. The driver could have been killed if he was rammed in that area.

It's all too easy to say what you would do in similar circumstances. Personally, if you ask me how I would react if I was the thread starter, honestly, I have no idea. I too would have reacted in the same way, instinctively take evasive action. Whatever answer I would give may NOT match my actions given a real life scenario.

Some posters here are more concerned with the destruction of the car, than what COULD have been the outcome if the thread starter had ploughed into the other vehicle's door. Is saving a car from damage more important than preserving human life?

@ Bolded..

Unarguably true statement..

That's why it's called a split second decision.. Better yet a spur of the moment reaction.. Such actions/reactions are almost never thought out and are borne from the instinct to survive.

abatically:

Oh yes, u trained Paul walker.

Abegi pak well in your sexuality section.

CityNG: Not a critique of the OP but I would have tried to maintain my direction while applying the brake.

I had a sad opportunity such as this a few years back in one of my E36. Someone ran a red light in front of me, looking back at the video of the intersection at the city Man I was so disappointed in myself.

Why?

The last thing I did was drive head on, I made the best attempt to steer away from the oncoming vehicle but funny enough he too was doing the same thing and we still ended up colliding.

So planning what to do and actually what you do are two different things.

Glad that OP made it out. It looks really bad but it seems that your car is a virgin as in it hasn't been panel beaten before and all airbags were still intact.

Really the OP had no chance to think of what to do, I won't blame his reaction because his instinct would dictate he swerves sharply to avoid the obstacle not minding if he knocks another car next lane but alas! It went bad.
I have been in such a situation early this year when I was driving a 03highlander and was coming from Gwarinpa and heading towards Life camp roundabout when a vehicle suddenly stalled in front, in a bid to avoid him, I switch lane quickly to the right thus leaving very little space between my tyres and the kerbs and without looking at my side or rear view, suddenly a Honda overtook me in a dangerous manner thus necessitating me to sharply steer away from the Honda. That singular action nearly tipped the highlander but I was glad it had occupants and heavy luggage in its cargo area thus making it heavy and the vehicle came to a halt, but facing the direction I was coming from and facing the stalled vehicle. Forget the myths, tall things are prone to rollovers.

thank God for saving you and your sister

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration review research on traffic speed in 1998's summary states:

That the evidence shows that the risk of having a crash is increased both for vehicles traveling slower than the average speed, and for those traveling above the average speed.
That the risk of being injured increases exponentially with speeds much faster than the median speed.
That the severity/lethality of a crash depends on the vehicle speed change at impact.
That there is limited evidence that suggests that lower speed limits result in lower speeds on a system wide basis.
That most crashes related to speed involve speed too fast for the conditions.
That more research is needed to determine the effectiveness of traffic calming.
Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_collision

Pays to hit the brakes irrespective of whether you swerve or decide to hit in an emergency

Swerving saved lives here, a collision was clearly not an option if lives mattered: http://www.atu.org/media/news/atu-hero-peterborough-member-makes-split-second-decision-to-avoid-crash . Although it was a split-second decision/manoeuvre it was executed with care and caution.

Several words stand out from the exchanges on this thread, they include :

Split second

Decision

Accident

Emergency

Evasive Action

Spur of the moment

Instinct


Every driver should expect to be in one sometime, if that is the case, I think it pays to give thought to what actions to take and what actions not to take. Failure to do so can result in faulty instinctive evasive action in effect worsening an already bad situation e.g., slamming the brakes in response to tire failure.

Quote: "In split second decision making time is of the essence, often the decisions need to be made in a minute and sometimes in a few seconds. During this short process of the "making of the decision" you are using your best judgment and that's why it's important to have developed and honed the ability to make the right decision based on a a few key input variables. Split second decision making it's about "thinking on your feet" to save a situation . However, no matter how the decision making happens, there's still a context to it. In this type of decision making, we rely heavily on our past experience, knowledge and memories. This is one of the reasons that aircraft pilots and firemen spend countless hours rehearsing fire drills and flying on the simulators. This is so that when an actual situation occurs when they need to make a decision in the blink of an eye, they are able to sub-consciously draw on their past experiences and memories and make the right decision."

Source: http://www.managementskillsadvisor.com/split-second-decision-making.html

This is important because "Safe, accident-free driving isn’t a matter of luck. Rather, it is dependent on the decisions made while driving – usually in the space of three seconds. About 95% of vehicle accidents happen due to indecision or poor decisions on the part of one of the drivers. Only 5% are caused by mechanical failure of the vehicle.

Thankfully, most of us were taught proactive, rather than reactive, driving techniques. Add to that the principles of decision driving and it’s easy to learn to make split second decisions with confidence." Practicing decision driving can reduce if not eliminate several split-second life and death situations. 5 tips related to decision driving are considered here http://risttransport.com/time-react-practice-decision-driving-road/

Raikishi: TRUE STORY: SEAT BELTS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

Hello all,
Was driving home yesterday with my junior sister when one of these mad drivers in Abuja came into the express without looking and slammed his brakes when he saw me coming. In a bid to avoid smashing into him (directly to where he was sitting... pretty sure it might have killed him) I tried to dodge and successfully did so but that decision flipped the and made it somersault more times than I can count. The car is nothing to speak about, I thought I would not make it out of that car alive.

How did I survive? I had my seat belt on (I was faithful in the little things) and GOD TOOK OVER AND SAVED ME (Faithful in the BIG LEAGUE where it counts).


As I look back now did I do the right thing or should I have just hit him instead of putting my life and that of my sister at risk?

NB: To top it off, the useless 1d1ot followed one way and ran away (for fear of lynching, I don't know) without coming to see if we were safe.

Thank God u and ur sis are alive,dat car is total wreck,pls u guys shuld go for proper medical check up to make u sure u are 100% ok

Graphy: Thank God u and ur sis are alive,dat car is total wreck,pls u guys shuld go for proper medical check up to make u sure u are 100% ok

Seconded! Many apparently ok victims of collisions later died from internal bleeding or organ ruptures