You see your life flashing before your eyes and then, all of a sudden, you're fine! Jalopnik readers found ten of these moments, when sheer luck kept a seemingly-inevitable crash from happening.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day — our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
If you don't want to click through the gallery you can see the post in a single page right here.
Photo Credit: etkalenko/YouTube
10.) Awesome Motorbike Save
Suggested By: Stephen Hynds
Why it's lucky: The gyroscopic effect of a motorcycle certainly helped prevent Raffaele De Rosa from crashing, as did a lot of skill, but he was amazingly lucky not to slide an inch further into the gravel in this bonkers save.
9.) Mustang Spins through a Car Chase
Suggested By: Maxximtl
Why it's lucky: Somehow this Mustang driver, being chased by the cops for reasons unknown, manages to keep it together though he is the recipient of a number of PIT maneuvers. He even pulls off the road with grace.
8.) Aussie V8 Saves with a Donut
Suggested By: Matt Urban
Why it's lucky: That nobody hits driver Jamie Whincup doing a donut in the middle of a race is amazingly lucky. That he saved his race (he actually won!) by putting his foot to the floor is sheer class.
7.) Danny Sullivan's 1985 "Spin to Win"
Suggested By: jip1080
Why it's lucky: There's just no way that you can spin in the middle of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and not get tangled up in any other cars. In '85 Danny Sullivan did just that, going on to win this Indy 500!
6.) 9-Second Miata Goes Surprise Drifting
Suggested By: oxweeblexo
Why it's lucky: At the Sacramento drag strip just over the weekend, a Skyline-powered Miata spilled coolant on its rear tire and lost control at 140 miles an hour. The driver kept it out of the walls, spinning like some kind of hagwalah drifter.
5.) Evo Dodges A Snowbound Pileup
Suggested By: HopkinsonF1
Why it's lucky: Pardon the language, but we'd be swearing too if we saw a massive pileup emerge out of the fog on a snowy highway. The driver had some damage to his car, but it was still an amazingly lucky save.
4.) BMW X5 Dodges Fan, Cliff
Suggested By: ricostuart3
Why it's lucky: How this rally BMW X5 kept from rolling over, even as it nearly crushes a spectator and slides perilously close to a cliff is just unbelievable.
3.) Porsche Cayenne Escapes Death by Truck
Suggested By: amm203
Why it's lucky: Had that Pepsi truck been bumped over the center divider a fraction of a second later, the Cayenne in the other lane would be toast. Good thing they weren't chatting/texting/doing their makeup like all the other Cayenne drivers out there.
2.) Missed Connection: Atom and Deer
Suggested By: xxstich666xx
Why it's lucky: The Atom is one nimble car, and the passenger in this one was awesomely fast in maneuvering out of the way of this passing deer, but luck played a huge part from bringing a pile of venison flying into the open cockpit.
1.) Rally Driver Isn't a Tree Hugger
Suggested By: HopkinsonF1
Why it's lucky: Mikko Hirvonen was an absolute hero for bringing his rally car back on the road after sliding four wheels off in a corner. That he gets back on the road without hitting the tree directly in his path was sheer luck.