I hate driving behind people with the P (probation) sign stuck the rear window of their cars. I am also afraid of them. They swerve, turn, brake and accelerate without reason and at the worst possible time they can. Although it is said that practice makes perfect, the longer these people stay on the road, more people will get hurt, or at the very least, agitated.
Hence, the idea for this list of five things drivers need to know while driving:
1 Lights are guides, not commandments.
I’ve had several friends who almost got into accidents because “the lights on the car in front of mine was not working.”
What?
“If I don’t get to see the brake lights on, how will I know that they are braking?”
Er, one, the car gets bigger and bigger and a scary rate because you are still moving and they are slowing down. Two, you should keep a safe distance from the car in front of you, not kiss the rear end whenever you can (or like). Three, telling the insurance agent that you banged the car in front of you because his lights are out may not be a good idea.
The same goes for traffic lights. Do not take them for granted and think that they are working all the time. “Ooh, it’s green, I’ll accelerate”, say the driver on the north road and on the east road as they have green lights on their lanes.
Use your eyes on the roads at ALL times.
2 The blind spot
“The car appeared out of nowhere.”
Yes, a 2-tonne car magically appeared out of nowhere behind you and so it is not your fault if you rammed into it.
Perhaps it is a good time to introduce to you the blind spot. cue music *jeng jeng jenggggg…*
Some people don’t believe in it. “Where got such a thing? I think it’s a lousy excuse for bad driving.”
Partly true, and the other part would be the bad adjustments of the rear view mirror and the side mirrors of your car.
We depend on reflections on our rear view mirrors and side mirrors on our cars to see the areas behind us. So it is crucial that we (can) see all. Badly adjusted mirrors will produce a blind spot, an area that is not within the scope of our vision.
If you only check your mirrors once, then make your move quickly and sharply, an accident may occur.
It is always better to check your mirrors once, wait a second or two, check again, then slowly move into that lane. That way if there is a car there and you did not see it before you made your move, you still have time to slow down your lane change or move back into your lane to get out of the way.
3 Turning corners
Please people. Please.
Check to see if there are cars coming from the right when you want to turn left in that intersection. If you’re not from Malaysia, you’ll be surprised to know that many people here just turn into the lane without stopping at intersections.
We have road signs that say STOP at intersections but apparently these people can’t read. Nor do they understand that it takes longer for a car going straight to brake than a car that is taking a turn.
Slow down to see if there are cars going in the direction of your lane, then only make your turn. You should do it more if it is a quiet intersection. Don’t take this for granted. If you can’t do this, please don’t drive.
Note: there is a town here where everyone drives like that. I can’t remember where it is so I’m not naming names. Don’t wanna name the wrong town.
4 Keep your hands and focus on the wheel
Mini list: 5 don’ts while driving.
Do not text.
You are down one hand and two eyes and half of your concentration on the road.
Do not talk on the phone.
I don’t think many people get it. When you drive, you should stay focus. Talking on the phone while holding it, with a hands-free kit or even on Bluetooth keeps you off focus. You may not react to a situation on the roads in time if you’re trying to remember where you keep your bank statements because your wife prefer to call and ask you than ask you before bed last night.
Do not eat a whole meal.
Besides the loss of concentration, you will dirty the car with crumbs and sauce.
Do not apply makeup.
Women are not built for driving 2-tonne things. Women are not built for driving even. Well, some do a really good job at it but generally, no, women are not built for driving. Ever seen one try to parallel park? And women are NOT built for driving while applying their makeup on. Period.
Do not rummage around for small items.
Prepare the small change for your tolls before you set off for work. Place your prepaid cards at an easily reachable place. In fact, place everything you may need at a reachable place so you need not go under the dashboard at 70 miles per hour.
5 Indicate
No, do not indicate two seconds before you arrive at your turn. Too late.
No, do not indicate two or three turns before your turn. Too soon.
Remember to switch of your indicator after you’ve made your turn.
Give way when someone indicate. This way you will encourage more people to use their indicators.
Lastly, always check to see that your indicator lights are working.
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You can choose to read this list then ignore it, or you can choose to practise it to make for safer roads. Don’t worry. These instructions will not self destruct in n seconds should you choose to not accept it.
Just be safe on the road. That’s all I’m asking.
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