Groundrush

When I was younger, I trained to do parachute jumps. We were taught about "ground rush":

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Having overcome the fear of jumping, you're falling through the air and quite enjoying the exhilarating speed, smoothness, scenery, and sense of space to yourself ... much like driving on a motorway.

But, only about 100m from the ground, you suddenly sense the planet's hard surface rushing towards you. Your parachute (= brakes) is too late!

Driving at even low speeds has that illusion of barely moving. It's because your head's 1m from the ground (not the usual 2m walking height) and can only see road further away. (It's even worse behind! The door mirrors distort, so they're little help).

A glance over the right windowsill is the quickest way to gauge your speed: that's where you see the road closest. And that'll help you plan when to start braking.

My general advice is: slow earlier and more than you think you need to.