Page Two

“Drive Safely!”

How often this has been said to departing family members or guests! It is a good reminder. Driving may be hazardous. There are many factors involved in getting to your destination safely. Each year millions of people don’t.

Can anything be done to improve driving safety? Awake! correspondent in Britain takes a look at the situation in several countries and provides sound counsel to help operators of motor vehicles to drive so as to save their own lives and the lives of others.

Safe Driving​—The Urgent Need

IT HAS been said of driving that “there is simply no other activity which presents scope for so much mayhem and suffering, but demands so little real sustained training and responsibility.” Have you ever had to dodge out of the way of an oncoming vehicle? As a pedestrian, a passenger, or a driver, have you witnessed a traffic accident and expressed concern at the carnage on the roads?

In Britain “the number of pedestrians killed or seriously injured has been rising for five years.”​—The Times.

“About 4,000 men, women and children are killed on Canadian roads . . . every year.”​—The Toronto Star.

From 1981 to 1985, motor vehicle accidents in the United States caused 233,200 deaths.​—The World Almanac, 1987.

“The car . . . kills more than do tuberculosis, cancer, and heart disease in Rio de Janeiro [Brazil].”​—O Estado de S. Paulo.

On a world scale, what does this amount to?

Driving​—At a Price

Worldwide, every year an estimated quarter of a million human lives are snuffed out as a result of traffic accidents! According to The Toronto Star, this is “more than all those killed each year in wars, crimes and industrial accidents.”

In Britain the cost of a single road death is assessed at £252,000 ($400,000, U.S.). Why so much? Apart from what has been invested in the individual, his lost earning potential, and material damage, there is the expense of ambulance, hospital, and other services. Unsafe driving is costly indeed!

The “Potential of Killing”

Britain’s former Secretary of State for Transport John Moore finds it “amazing that some 5000 lives are wiped out each year in Britain​—and yet there is barely a murmur from the media [and the] British public.” Some road-safety pressure groups claim that ‘killing with a vehicle is in danger of becoming an acceptable form of homicide.’

Despite this apparent lack of concern, one conclusion is inescapable: How you drive may make the difference between life and death for someone, possibly you. Alex Miller, senior driving examiner for Strathclyde Police in Scotland, explains: “Every car is a lethal weapon providing the driver with the potential of killing.”

As a driver, what does that mean to you? It is very thought provoking, is it not? Nevertheless, many operators of vehicles pay it scant attention, especially those who drink and drive.

From the Federal Republic of Germany comes the report that “in 1984 there were 40,332 traffic accidents in which people were killed or maimed and 20,000 involving serious damage to property​—all involving drunken drivers.” In Britain alcohol is linked to 1 out of every 3 road deaths.

Do such statistics deter drinking drivers? Not according to a police spokesman in England who observed: “There is still a substantial number of drivers who are prepared to take a chance and put themselves, their families and other road users at risk.” Professor Robert Kendell of Edinburgh University claims that “something like 10 per cent of the male population of [Britain] drive a car at least once a week over the legal limit [of blood alcohol].” What is that, if not pure selfishness?

Some alcoholic-beverage producers in Britain try to alleviate the problem by promoting pub-transport schemes. These involve bus or car-hire companies engaged to transport the drinker to and from his favorite hostelry, whatever his physical condition may be. On a group level, a few drivers who like to drink try to avoid danger by determining in advance which one among them will drive the group home, and who agrees to stay sober and consume only soft drinks. Do these efforts, praiseworthy though they may be, succeed? Reports in the Glasgow Herald claim that such initiatives “are not enough to reduce the incidence of drinking and driving in any significant way.”

What, then, is the answer to the drinking-driver problem? “Ultimately we must make drinking and driving unsociable,” concludes the Warwickshire police chief, Peter Joslin, adding: “Our only advice is: ‘Do not drink and drive.’”

Is this a realistic directive? Some countries strictly enforce their traffic regulations, handing out severe penalties to the drinking driver. Sweden’s legislation empowers the authorities to confiscate the car of a dangerous driver, just as they would take a knife or a gun from the violent criminal. The British Magistrates’ Association reportedly backs a move to ban drivers who fail breath tests whenever it is believed they may commit the offenses again before the case gets to court.

There is, however, more to safe driving than just staying sober.

[Picture on page 3]

Worldwide, every year the number of people killed in traffic accidents exceeds the population of Iceland

Avoid Excessive Speed and Aggression!

“IF THE car was invented today it would be banned,” asserts Geoff Large, assistant director of road safety for Britain’s RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents). “You would never be allowed to sell something which would kill and injure a third of a million people every year in this country alone.”

Motor-vehicle manufacturers recognize the potential danger of their product. They invest vast sums of money and go to great lengths to improve the safety features built into modern cars. But as London’s Sunday Express Magazine comments: “Security-conscious drivers know that protecting the car​—and its occupants—​doesn’t come cheap.” Though advertising may feature safety devices, what captures the buyer’s attention? Often it is the vehicle’s performance, how it achieves maximum speed in minimum time, its power, as well as its sleek lines and sporty trim.

Retired judge Richard Spiegel believes that German motorists seem “to have a neurotic relationship to speed . . . still the most frequent cause of accident.” It is this attitude that he believes is exploited by “motor industry advertising.” Is this true in your country too?

Other factors, such as increasing traffic density and the diminishing quality of the road network, render driving more risky in many countries. Reports from Brazil focus on the perils of unmarked intersections. “In these situations,” comments the Brazil Herald, “one or more drivers suddenly become confused, hesitate, which can lead to an accident.”

Faced with such hazards, it is imperative that drivers of modern high-performance vehicles be responsible, well-trained, and caring people. The Swedish publication Trygg i trafiken? (Safe in Traffic?) offers this estimation: “Next to the right to vote, a driver’s license is the most important thing you can be entrusted with by society.”

Beware of Aggression!

Speed kills. Drunken drivers kill. ‘But,’ you say, ‘I stick to the speed limits, and I don’t drink any alcohol when I am going to drive. I realize driving can be a matter of life and death. What more can I do?’

“The car amplifies a human faculty, that of movement, making it possible to cover distances much more rapidly than by his own means,” writes psychologist Zulnara Port Brasil, adding: “That in itself is not wrong.” So where is the problem? According to Zulnara, it “lies in the manner in which each driver handles that power.”

No doubt you agree with the French daily Le Monde that commented: “A widespread, cultivated attitude of mind makes us take . . . the wheel as a symbol of power . . . If one cannot avoid the foolishness of others . . . , at least one can control one’s own driving.”​—Italics ours.

Modern motoring is more arduous and hazardous owing to what the Glasgow Herald calls “the rising level of aggression and intolerance behind the wheel.” Add to this “brinkmanship [the practice of pushing a dangerous situation to the limit of safety before stopping] and cut and thrust techniques,” which have become “increasingly prevalent to the point of physical violence and collisions,” and you have a recipe for devastation on the roads. Canadian police superintendent Ken Cocke comments: “People have just forgotten all the rules​—and everybody’s in a hurry. We sense we have to be more aggressive; everybody pushes and nobody waits in line.”

This aggressive streak, characteristic of today’s driver, does indeed provoke trouble. “The worst fault,” reports Rheinischer Merkur, “is that of following too close behind. . . . Few road users appreciate how others feel. For example, drivers of fast cars often feel that motorcyclists are a menace. They feel challenged, envious, and envy can easily trigger aggression.” So common is this trait that “one person in three questioned admits to having felt upset or even insulted by being overtaken.”

Top Priority​—Drive Safely!

The increased violence taking place on the highways in the United States seems to reflect this aggression. An item in The Wall Street Journal, August 3, 1987, under the heading “Drivers Are Turning Increasingly Violent,” stated: “In cities across the country, police note a rise in highway shootings, fistfights and other mayhem, many starting with minor run-ins between drivers. In a few cases motorists have been killed.” The New York Times, August 6, 1987, reported: “Since mid-June, violence on southern California freeways has killed four people . . . and left 15 injured.”

There is thus no question about it: to drive safely is a must, for our own benefit and for that of others too. After lamenting the lives lost each year on Britain’s roads, former transport secretary John Moore urges: “Road safety . . . has to be among all road users’ top priorities.”

On the practical side, then, how can you drive safely? What should you be looking for? What advice do safe, experienced drivers offer? Our next article, “Cultivate Safe Driving Habits,” will consider these questions.

Cultivate Safe Driving Habits

SAFE, careful, steady, cautious, overcautious, erratic, reckless, dangerous​—these are all descriptions of drivers. Which applies to you? Most drivers may consider themselves safe and careful drivers, but their passengers and other road users may be less complimentary.

One essential to driving safely is a roadworthy vehicle.

Is Your Vehicle Roadworthy?

Some countries check the mechanical condition of vehicles at regular intervals. The results are often surprising. In France, for example, a recent inspection of five-year-old vehicles revealed that 73 percent were in either mediocre, very poor, or even dangerous condition.

To help you check your own vehicle, you will find it useful to follow a routine in much the same way as airline pilots do to ensure that all is ready for the takeoff. The suggested check is shown on page 8.

With a roadworthy vehicle, properly insured and legally acceptable, you need a valid driving permit. To obtain this, you must take a test. Will you pass or fail?

The Driving Test

Most learner drivers view the driving test as a hurdle. It certainly is a major topic of conversation among them. Tests vary from country to country.

In France, as in many other lands, learner drivers take a driving test in two parts, practice and theory. In Germany, training includes first-aid instruction on what to do at the scene of an accident. Additionally, the authorities there impose a legal minimum of one and a half hours’ practice in night driving as well as just over two hours’ driving on a motorway (freeway). If the learner passes the examiner’s test, he receives a probationary license valid for two years. Should this time pass without incident, a permanent license is granted.

Japan insists on from 30 to 60 hours of practical instruction from qualified driving instructors, followed by a three-part test: medical (for vision, color blindness, hearing), driving (for practical skill), and written (on traffic regulations).

According to The Times of London, “the tough British driving test is defeating hundreds of angry Americans [resident there].” With a 51-percent failure rate (compared with 15 percent in the U.S.A.), it is reckoned to be “one of the most stringent in the world.”

The variations extend past the technicalities. Ben Yoshida, who runs a driving school in New York, asserts: “In Tokyo, an inspector tests [drivers] from the point of view of how well they can drive a car technically, but in the United States, he tests to see how safely they can drive.”

Whatever the differences, all drivers need to apply themselves to driving safely. How can they do this?

One English lady, who took her driving test when 50 years of age and passed, found it helpful to prepare by making a thorough study of Britain’s Highway Code.a But as with any skill, she found that more is required than studying a textbook.

Practice is essential. If you are a new driver, learn to drive safely under varying conditions. For example, when the weather changes, so does the condition of the road surface. Though there may be only a light sprinkling of rain, the grip of your vehicle’s tires will not be as effective as on a dry road. Consequently, slower speeds coupled with a greater awareness of road hazards become imperative. Heavy rain brings additional problems, such as when the spray kicked up behind vehicles obstructs your clear view ahead. Yes, become accustomed to different weather conditions and adjust your driving accordingly.

You are probably not a qualified mechanic. In fact, “not one in five motorists knows his car’s tyre pressures or service intervals,” claims London’s Daily Mail, adding: “Not one in three ever reads a handbook and nearly all are baffled by modern engines.” How about you?

Although it is not necessary to know all the intricate mechanical details of today’s vehicles, it does help to know the basics. This will enable you to develop ‘car sympathy.’

Improve Your Technique

Passing your driving test will give you a good feeling, a sense of achievement. But then what? Will you let your standards drop? “Often after passing the test, many drivers get a bit reckless,” comments a driving instructor. He offers this advice: “Know your limitations and the limitations of the vehicle in varying conditions. Until you have found those out, you are likely to have an accident.” One driver conceded: “If I drove the way I did the first few weeks after my test, I would be a safer driver.” Why so? He admits: “I now take more chances.”

On passing your test, you demonstrate that you are basically a safe driver. To become a good driver, you now must continue to work on your driving. You can almost certainly improve your skill with experience and attention to your driving technique.

Become ever more alert to possible dangers. “Lack of anticipation and awareness of what is going on in front, behind and around your car is the main fault of today’s drivers,” claims British police driving examiner, Alex Miller. Try to expect the unexpected. Learning to ‘read the road’ will help.​—See box on this page.

Safety Involves Attitude

“Temperament,” according to driving examiner Miller, “is the most important thing.” A driver with 30 years’ experience, in both Africa and Europe, offers this estimate: “Driving is a question of character. A person’s driving manners reflect the way he treats others in everyday life.”

A Canadian driver focuses attention on the value of the right attitude, writing: “When a driver’s license is regarded as a ‘privilege’ rather than a ‘right,’ traffic etiquette will improve our highway safety appreciably.”

“If safety is an attitude of mind,” states a British Department of Transport driving manual, “then humility is one of its main ingredients.” For many, this will mean a change of temperament. Is that possible? Yes. It involves being conscious of others, being unselfish. How well the Biblical golden rule expresses it: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.”​—Matthew 7:12.

But how does this work out in practice? “When tempers get frayed on the road, it is really difficult to cultivate good qualities,” observes one driver in England. No doubt you agree. The desire to retaliate is strong. “Nevertheless, I have used music cassettes to help me. The calming effect is amazing.”​—See box on page 9.

“Try very hard to control any feelings of irritation,” is the admonition of one experienced Japanese driver. “If you are upset for some reason, hum or sing.”

Do not expect too much of others. Accident statistics clearly warn of the peril from dangerous drivers. Be determined to drive defensively, or as one driver put it: “Drive as though everyone else on the road is a potential hazard.”

Recognize, too, that you can learn from others. Analyze the quality of their driving.​—See box on this page.

“There isn’t much magic to becoming a Driving Ace,” asserts Jim Kenzie, writing in The Toronto Star. “All you need is some knowledge, some common sense, [and] some consideration for the other guy.” Whether you are a new driver or an experienced one, remember that the road is not the place for showing off, for impatience, or for selfishness.

By developing ‘car sympathy,’ by ‘reading the road,’ by concentrating and anticipating, as well as by cultivating a humble attitude, you will succeed in driving​—safely!

[Footnotes]

[Box/​Pictures on page 8]

Is Your Vehicle Roadworthy?

Items one should check every trip:

Windshield and windows: Clean? Is windshield washer filled? Wiper blades in good condition?

Lights, brake lights, and turn signals: In working order?

Tires: Any deep cuts or cracks, splits, bulges, or other damage?

Brakes: As soon after start as possible, check if they are in working order.

Periodic check per owner’s manual:

Engine: Is oil level above the “ADD” line? Do not overfill.

Radiator (if any): Is coolant level high enough? Is there adequate freeze protection?

Tires: Correct inflation pressure, depth of tread, and evenness of wear?

Battery: Is fluid level correct in each cell? Do not overfill.

[Box on page 9]

Driven to Distraction

Car radios and cassette recorders offer up-to-date news and music. Do they interfere with the driver’s concentration? Opinions differ. Some drivers claim they concentrate well whatever is broadcast. Others prefer to limit the use of such to background music when driving in heavy traffic. This is in harmony with the warning of the Driving manual: “Serious listening could affect your concentration.” What, then, of the use of car phones? It advises: “Stop before making or receiving a call.”b

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 10]

Read the Road

In a series of booklets designed to help both learners and qualified drivers, Britain’s RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents) first acknowledges the motor industry’s investment in producing vehicles that meet high safety criteria. But it reminds drivers that “a car can only be as safe as the driver at the wheel.” It recommends that all drivers ‘read the road.’ How can this be done? What is involved?

1. Search for early indications of road and traffic situations. Most of the time, a driver should look ahead, searching for information that will alert him to possible hazards. He will, however, be aware of what is happening at the side of the road.

2. Observe the location, weather, time, and other road users. Where you are, in town or in the country, should influence your driving. Wet, icy, or snowbound roads are more hazardous. Patchy fog is especially dangerous. High winds may blow you out of your traffic lane. Glare, either from the sun or from an oncoming car’s headlights, may blind you temporarily or at least drastically reduce your vision. Vacation time brings many inexperienced drivers onto the roads. Watch out for pedestrians and animals. Notice the shadows that warn you of pedestrians crossing the road in front of the bus you overtake.

3. Predict how what you observe will affect your driving. Decide carefully how to cope with this, and drive through the situations safely.

“This technique,” claims RoSPA, “is constantly used by expert drivers. . . . It should improve your standard of driving.” What is more, “it is known to help to reduce the possibility of accidents.”

[Box on page 11]

Tips From the Experts

Take pride in giving your passengers a comfortable, smooth ride.

View driving as a skill to be perfected.

Make sure your vehicle is in tip-top condition.

Look ahead to the far distance and the middle distance, as well as close by.

Check the mirrors for what is happening behind and alongside your vehicle.

Beware of the blind spot in your vision.

Before turning or changing lanes, check mirror and give signal in sufficient time.

If necessary, physically turn to check before changing direction rather than relying on the mirrors alone.

Be patient. Keep calm.

Safe driving means obeying the traffic laws.

[Picture on page 7]

The driving test is to ensure that you will drive safely