A lot of near misses take place when people make mistakes and then freeze up and get hit. It's kind of like when two people try to pass each other in the hallway and go the same way.

Within certain sets of circumstances I can see hammering down and nope-ing out of there being a good default response.

Hitting the brakes too hard can be just as bad as hitting the throttle too hard.

If you're hydroplaning, or if your car is sliding on ice or snow, the last thing you want to do is hit the brakes. The only real course of action is to try and ride it out, especially in a rear wheel drive vehicle.