An Escape Route

A full space envelope has one more feature: somewhere to go. If the road ahead closes suddenly, you want a space to move into, not a wall on every side.

The handbook gives the reason it matters. Above 30 km/h, steering around an obstacle is preferred to braking, because it takes less distance to steer past an object than to brake to a stop. It adds that in wet weather, sudden braking often leads to skids. An emergency swerve is only an option, though, if the space beside you is empty. That is why you manage it before you need it:

• Don't let yourself get boxed in. Avoid sitting alongside other vehicles, with a lorry on one side and the kerb on the other.
• Know what is beside you. The mirror and shoulder checks from The Scanning System keep your picture of the sides current, so you know whether the space is there.
• Stopping in a queue, a working guide (⚠ field-constructed): stop far enough back that you can see the rear tyres of the vehicle ahead touching the road. That leaves room to pull around it if it breaks down, and room to move forward if someone is about to hit you from behind.

If the escape route is the verge, the handbook's instructions for when a wheel goes off the pavement apply:

• hold the steering firmly;
• take your foot off the accelerator, avoiding heavy braking;
• steer back onto the road only once the vehicle is under control.

Murram and Unpaved Roads and Skid Control and Recovery cover what the surface does once you're there.

The escape route is rarely used. It is there so that the one time the road ahead closes, you still have a choice.