Another thing to remember is the old Mountain Biking tip: "Look where you want to go, not where you don't want to go." In other words if you are looking at the drop off at the edge of the pavement you will tend to steer towards the drop off at the edge of the pavement and then you will have to swerve back towards the road to avoid it. Don't look at the obstacle you want to avoid, look at the path around the obstacle.