ROAD SAFETY ARTICLE
I do not know if you followed my series on “Before the Rain Begins.” It was the first time that I took time to guide us on the necessary preparations before the rainy season as predicted by NiMET. I am hoping that you took time to read through the piece that ran for two weeks. Meanwhile, I dont know if you believe in the Almighty God, the creator and our maker. For me, I do and I know that my Muslim brothers do also. That is why I wish to remind you of what is called Faith. Faith, the Bible tells me, cometh by hearing and hearing the word of God. The same Bible says “My people perish for the lack of knowledge.” Similarly, Chapter 15:55 of the Koran says “But remind, for reminding benefits the believers,” both the holy Bible and the glorious Koran emphasises the need to be knowledgeable. It is in light of the above and in view of recent past tragedies that I am compelled to reproduce this piece, though with slight modification.
A couple of years ago, someone dear and inspiring was left crippled by a driver who disregarded the simple rules of being cautious while driving in the rain, especially on unfamiliar roads. What looks like a small mistake caused this lady not just a career but her mobility while the driver escaped without a scratch. Just recently another person who I know lost his life in a crash, which occurred while driving in the rain. These two painful tragedies and perhaps many more, while probably not known about, are the reasons for reproducing this piece.
Remember that I had shared the story of a pathetic and tragic death of a mother and a wife in a road traffic crash which occurred along Abuja Airport road. The mother’s details I didn’t know, neither the husband’s. However, her death, like that of most other tragedies often highlighted in my weekly piece, was caused by a driver’s error. The woman, if you recall, had flown from the United Kingdom to Abuja without a hitch. On arrival, she called the husband who in turn, perhaps due to another pressing engagement, requested a taxi driver to pick her up. Sometime in the course of 45 minutes’ drive from the Abuja Airport, the driver, on noticing a trailer, instinctively tried to avoid it, but unfortunately crashed into the trailer with the woman and she died. The driver was injured and alive.
The first question I asked was: was it raining? How fast was he going at the point of the crash? On what lane was he? The speed (left lane) or slow lane, (right lane)? Was the trailer stationary? How bad was visibility? Unfortunately, no one was there to reply to me, as the woman was dead and the driver hospitalised.
These questions and many more are the reasons for this piece. As we daily experience heavy downpour across the country, according to the Revised High Cod, it is more difficult and hazardous because visibility is blurred by weather conditions such as mist, fog, harmattan haze or other related factors.
Remember that even before the raining season began, some of the roads were either being repaired or were inadequate. Remember also that there could be broken down vehicles or even slow moving vehicles with defective lighting systems. Remember also that your vehicle could suddenly develop a fault, a tyre could burst, brake failure, electrical system could malfunction; and any fault could develop. There may even be fallen trees on the road.
Before you start out, ask yourself if that journey is really necessary? Are you in the right state of mind to make the journey? Also confirm the minimum safety state of your vehicle. When was it last serviced? How good is your sight? What is the state of your tyres, wipers and windscreen? Never underestimate the dangers. Make sure your lights are working, your windscreens okay and your wipers are in perfect working conditions. Remember that the road is not your personal property; you share the road with others, amongst which are heavy duty vehicles. These heavy duty vehicles usually require longer distances to stop and would require even more distance under the rain or bad weather conditions.
Rule number one would require that your knowledge of defensive driving techniques be brought to bear for your safety and others. You must always slow down, keep a safe distance from the vehicle ahead of you and always be prepared to stop within your range of vision and avoid possible blind spots. Your overall stopping distance is the distance your car travels from the moment you realise you must brake to the moment the vehicle stops. It is made up of thinking distance and braking distance. You must never get closer than the overall stopping distance. On wet roads, the gap should be much more. Stopping distance increases greatly with wet and slippery roads, poor brakes, bad tryes and tired drivers.
Since there is diminished visibility during bad weather, whilst driving, seeing and being seen is a must at such times. This is because 80 per cent of driving information comes from visibility. Visibility influences the reaction time. Although, motorist misbehavior and natural influences cannot be eliminated completely, safety is enhanced by creating visibility of obstacles, especially when it’s raining. This is critical in the absence of adequate pavement markings that reflect. Without such signs to guide a driver who may not be familiar with the road on which he is driving, headlights must be used to aid visibility.
