In the Driver’s Seat – We Control How We Move

IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT: WE CONTROL HOW WE MOVE

Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) happen every day – It in fact, remains the leading cause of injury-related deaths.

I watched a documentary once. A number of victims of car accidents narrating how they had woken up in the morning, hopped into their cars or prepared to walk to their various destinations, when it happened; and how their lives had since been altered.

As is the case with just about everything which impacts society and public interest, education and a general improvement in the orientation of drivers as they get behind the wheels are very important and simply cannot be over emphasized. In addition to the training that drivers are required to undergo to recognize and properly interpret approved road signs; it is important that drivers are taught that the car like all machines is a complex feat of engineering, made up of various parts made to work in tandem with each other. As such, before any driver is licensed he or she must at all times be able to at least appreciate the essence of the car dashboard and warnings that may be indicated during the journey – this is because a dysfunctional machine is always a potential hazard.

The government also has a role to play in reducing RTAs through policy formulation and implementation – including, amongst other things, making sure cars that are not roadworthy are effectively gotten off the road, educating the populace on the two-way importance of insurance, ensuring that car manufacturers make use of available road safety technologies and apply them across a broad spectrum of cars.

Most importantly however, drivers need to understand the implication of their decisions both to themselves and the community at large. Drivers need to have a sense of responsibility – at all times asking one all-encompassing question before hitting the road: Am I (or is my car) a potential hazard on the road?

I was in a car accident once – together with my mother and three of my sisters. It was a bus speeding behind and a case of brake failure. The car was horribly damaged, but we all came out unscathed. This was about five years ago; and today every single time I pass by or through that road, I relive that experience. How much more the trauma for those persons in the documentary I watched – with scars and constant reminders of what life used to be and what has been taken away from them.

While I will always agree that the safety of road users is a collective effort which requires that every citizen is actively involved, I continue to take the view that just as in life each person determines and is responsible for how they move, how they conduct themselves, and how these actions affect the next person, the driver is always in control and must therefore be responsible for his or her movement.