My wife and I have a deal: whoever is driving, if the other says "STOP!" you slam on the brakes without question.
I had to merge into a really weird intersection: we came in at an angle to go over the LEFT side of a bridge. I couldn't really see to the right due to the angle. I had a green arrow, which was lit well before I even got there, but she said "STOP! STOP! STOP!" and I hit the brakes hard. I was going about 20 mph, and the car stopped VERY smartly -- and I definitely heard a bit of skidding (19" Michelin Primacy tires, fwiw). A very large pickup truck zoomed by, presumably going through a red light, and was maybe 18" from my front fender. He didn't even slow down or swerve. I'm guessing either on the phone, or drunk.
But she saved us from a pretty nasty collision 6 hours from home.
The takeaway is more than the driving dynamics: Consider making such an agreement with those you ride with a lot.
I had to merge into a really weird intersection: we came in at an angle to go over the LEFT side of a bridge. I couldn't really see to the right due to the angle. I had a green arrow, which was lit well before I even got there, but she said "STOP! STOP! STOP!" and I hit the brakes hard. I was going about 20 mph, and the car stopped VERY smartly -- and I definitely heard a bit of skidding (19" Michelin Primacy tires, fwiw). A very large pickup truck zoomed by, presumably going through a red light, and was maybe 18" from my front fender. He didn't even slow down or swerve. I'm guessing either on the phone, or drunk.
But she saved us from a pretty nasty collision 6 hours from home.
The takeaway is more than the driving dynamics: Consider making such an agreement with those you ride with a lot.