[GrumpyBen]

The law says you should only leave your lane if it's safe to do so, no law requires you to sacrifice yourself.

"I panicked" is not an excuse, you need to control your vehicle at all time. You should never be in a situation where there isn't time to decide, you need to adjust your speed and safety distance for that.

[loco5niner]

Because brakes never fail when going down a steep hill.

[tedunangst]

"You should never be in a situation where there isn't time to decide" sounds like I shouldn't ever need to wear a seat belt either.