I've never had a problem with collisions. Of course, my experience with space sims of various sorts over the years is probably the reason for that. A few dozen hours of dealing with Elite's dodgy autopilot can do wonders for your skill at avoiding navigational hazards.
One tip I can give you is never, ever fly directly towards a planet or station. Click to the side of it and the worst that can happen is you'll fly past it. Another tip I can give is to rebind the accelerate and decelerate keys for easier access so that you can respond instantly when a ship your tailing decides that a crash stop is the best course of action (I can almost see them shaking their fist at you yelling "Lousy tailgaters!").
[ October 04, 2003, 21:57: Message edited by: Mehrunes ]