Do this as a newb and anytime you get a new bike: tottle down a side street or non-busy road (not the school zone, dummy!) and practice swerving around manhole covers, potholes, whatever. This gets you used to moving the bike quickly in any direction and gives you more confidence in the "feel" of how your bike handles.
Why is this useful?
Because in a panic situation, your body and brain will not be thinking about effective braking, checking your mirrors, weight transfer and downshifting. Doing so will overload your brain and you will simply freeze up and hit something, or lock up the brakes and go down.
No, young newbie, you need your FIRST response to be an automatic, quick, safe swerve out of the way. I know this will elicit some WTFO responses, but that's the fun in having opinions, right?
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