In a few days it will be the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025. It will be another Christmas. Another season for festivities. It won’t be the last Christmas. Many others await us through the grace and mercy of Almighty God. Last week, a teaser titled: “Much Ado About Ember Months” arrived as a precursor to other safety tips to promote safe driving this season.
One of the characteristics of the season is increased motorisation. The season is also marked by increased frenzy driving which often results in avoidable crashes which are often attributed to the handiwork of the spirits. The truth is that bad and irresponsible driving abounds all year round. During this season, there is usually a surge in unsafe driving habits.
To guard against these I will review the Protection Commanders for guidance. I urge you to please internalize and follow these rules, no matter how long or short your trip may be. You should be guided by the provisions of the national traffic regulations and other relevant traffic laws. The regulations prohibit anyone who is not authorized to drive without a valid driver’s license. This statutory right to drive provided restricts you to a specific type of vehicle.
Second, before you drive that car in the face of the crippling effect on the economy, check that your vehicle meets minimum safety standards. This simply means that you need to ensure that your vehicle is well maintained and that all the necessary safety accessories are in proper shape.
Don’t join the crowd that pays lip service to security. Vehicle maintenance is the key to safety in all seasons to avoid a possible vehicle breakdown, brake failure or tire blowout that has claimed innocent lives. Please plead the blood of Jesus when it is beyond human control, but do the right thing first.
After passing these two hurdles, you must ask yourself a critical and personal question such as the following: am I emotionally, mentally and physically healthy to embark on that journey? This is perhaps the most critical decision that must be made before any road trip. Driving is a pleasure; however, the same pleasure has killed many who embarked on journeys without knowing the driver’s mental and emotional state. So the choice you make is key. If the vehicle is not a personal vehicle, you must ensure that you secure a carrier with a track record for safety.
A good number in our climate drive under emotional stress, regardless of the class of vehicle they drive. Some do so under financial stress. It is important that you stay off the wheels if you have handling problems, especially problems that will affect your overall concentration on the heels. If you’ve just won a jackpot from one of the ongoing promotions, stay off the wheels and let someone else drive you home safely.
Your knowledge of traffic rules is also crucial as it ensures a good driving culture. Remember the biblical injunction, which says “obedience is better than sacrifice”. A typical driver in our climate is self-centered and unwilling to share the road with another.
This self-centeredness is accentuated when another vehicle tries to overtake him. When overtaking, please do so only when it is legal, safe for you and others. The road signs and markings always guide you on when and where to overtake. The choice to decide when it is safe will be yours to make and it is necessary.
You need to learn to use your mirrors and look behind you. Watch out for blind spots which are areas around the vehicle that a driver cannot see either in their mirrors or by looking ahead. They can occur due to the structure of the car such as the body and pillars or other obstacles such as surrounding cars.
Remember, the appearance signal and look again and move routine. Overtake only on the left and avoid overtaking on slopes, bends, buildings or pedestrian crossings. Avoid overtaking if you have to cross double solid white lines or when you see a “no overtaking” sign. Only drive one vehicle at a time.
Let’s talk speed. It’s a temptation that eight or nine out of 10 drivers fail at. The traffic regulations specify different speeds for different vehicles and roads. This is because speed is one of the critical factors identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as being responsible for increased deaths.
What this simply means is that your chances of surviving while driving, should you be involved in a traffic accident, depend on your speed. So if you are a speed freak, look at that speed. Don’t forget that when you are speeding anything like brake failure, tire blowout or even a pedestrian crossing the road can happen. It can even be a crossbreed of livestock without warning.
Remember that at 100 km/h a vehicle is moving at 28 meters per second on a road when you are speeding. The speed limit for private cars on the motorway is 100 km/h, taxis and buses must keep to 90 km/h. Articulated vehicles such as trailers and tankers must maintain speed limits of 60 km/h on the motorway and 50 km/h on the motorway.
Within urban areas, taxis and buses must keep to a speed limit of 50 km/h. However, the United Nations (UN) has reduced this speed in built-up areas to 30 km/h. However, you must note that common sense often dictates lower speed limits. Common sense speed should therefore be lower in bad weather, bad roads and when the roads are more busy.
Globally, defensive driving is the “voodoo” of road safety. It is therefore a versatile medicine. This is because a defensive driver assumes that he is the only driver with some measure of sanity while the other drivers should actually be locked up in a psychiatric home due to their insanity.
Since collisions are caused by individual errors, he is always careful, follows all the rules and develops the right attitude such as patience, care, skill and consideration for other road users. A defensive driver never lets their safety depend on the actions or inactions of others. He always anticipates the wrong actions of others, gives correct, quick, adequate and clear signals.
