I agree that spread AoEs are probably the most triggering cause of player-induced death because when you're playing with randoms and no coordination there are so many ways it can go wrong.

I usually commit to running in one direction...but then sometimes other players get the same idea and it becomes a game of chicken to see who's going to try to adjust, which can further snowball into both of us trying to adjust and mirroring each other's movements by pure coincidence.