I followed a woman for about a mile on a 50 mph road who was looking in the rear view mirror, putting on makeup, both hands off the wheel, steering with her elbows. She got the car around a fairly sharp turn with no problem. There was no way I was going to pass her, even though she seemed quite good at this.
Another one. I used to carpool with a guy who talked to me while he was driving and always made full eye contact. When the cars in front of him slowed or stopped, I turned my head to look at the brake lights but he kept looking at me. Either he had 180+ peripheral vision or an eyeball in his ear. I never got used to this and my legs were tired from pushing down on the floor as if I had brake pedals on my side. He never came close to rear-ending someone.
There must be special angels assigned to people like the ones you describe.