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In my perspective sitiational awareness is extending your sphere of anticipation beyond, some might say far beyond, what is normally considered appropriate.
Termial disaster anticipation requires years of experience in practicing situational awareness. After a point experience combines with mental awareness and very intense observation of every vehicle in your sphere of situational awareness. Looking for things like tires that are low on air, bulges that preceed a blowout, drivers who act without any predictable pattern, IE the oddballs who demonstrate they are distracted or just totally oblivious to their surroundings, sleepy, drugged, drunk. They usually leave subtle clues to their condition or actions.
It's much like a game of chess, how many moves can you stay ahead of your opponent? Careful observation of combinations of the opponents movements that allow you to predict their actions and trap his pieces becasue he is unaware of his predictibility or unaware of your longer term strategy.
It's not just scanning with your eyes, it's always quickly responding to movements in your peripheral vision of things that are not realated to other drivers and traffic.
How long does it take to react to a falling tree? How quickly can you recognize the tree is actually falling?
Every animal on the side of the road, if they are looking at your headlights, their eyes glow and give you a little more time to be proactive, possibly making an emergency manoeuver possible before you hit that animal. Having the memory capability to remember the times when you survived a very close call and what made it possible.
Having the ability to react in microseconds to the oncoming driver who is coming into your lane and to have your escape routes preplanned. Some would call it paranoia. I call it self preservation. Don't think for a second that I am anything special in that regard It's a process that evolves over decades and requires youto understand and accept the limitations of age and make adjustments to your habits to compensate for the gradual deterioration of your senses.
I have been saved from my own stupidity by a bolt of lightning. Driving under the influence in a storm, I had passed out, crossed the oncoming lane of traffic and was very very close to driving off an overpass on the left side and plunging 40 feet to my death. Awakened by that bolt of lightening I had to slide sideways in the wet grass going 60 MPH and then reverse the slide to miss the concrete guard rail and GET BACK INTO THE ONCOMING LANE OF TRAFFIC, PRAYING THAT THERE WAS NO ONE THERE.
I was yong, stupid, arrogant, invincible and dead. That single act of nature saved my sorry arse, 40 years ago. Every day since that day has been a blessing, a gift from some greater being than myself whose awesome purpose in saving my life maybe even yet to be fullfilled.
regards
Mech
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