Introduction

There’s just something about the open road: the wind in your hair, the radio pumping, the sheer unalloyed terror of realizing you’re sitting behind the wheel of a giant, steel death machine, hurtling down the highway with nothing but your own split-second reflexes, the questionable abilities of your fellow drivers, and your vehicle’s out-of-warranty safety systems standing between you and your own doom.

Let’s not kid around here: cars really ought to be called worst-case scenarios on wheels. From the sweating panic of that very first driver’s test, cars and the scary situations they inspire are a staple of modern life. When you’re not dealing with an engine that’s caught fire, you’re facing a sudden brake failure, or driving down a flight of stairs to get away from the guy who’s chasing you.

Whether it’s driving in hurricane or whiteout conditions, bailing out at high speeds, escaping from the trunk of a car, or steering a big rig over the ice roads, you just never know what’s coming at you around the next turn. Lucky for you, every one of those situations is covered in this little book, and plenty more besides. So next time you get behind the wheel, make sure you’ve got The Worst-Case Scenario Pocket Guide: Driving (right along with the 22 other items never to leave home without, listed on page 16). It might just save your life—or at least keep you from peeing your pants before the next rest stop (page 21). Either way, we hope you enjoy the ride.

—The Authors