It’s Not You, It’s Them

It’s Not You- It’s Them

Ever heard the phrase “They just came out of nowhere!” ? If you’ve been driving for a while there’s a high likelihood you may have said this yourself on more than one occasion. The truth is no one “comes out of nowhere”, they may come from places we don’t expect, have speeds we don’t expect and do things we can’t predict, but they certainly don’t “come out of nowhere”. Reckless drivers rely on us, the other road users, to accommodate allow and make way for this dangerous behaviour. For this we have to elevate our driving above test standard and become “defensive” drivers, keeping distance, predicting the worst and taking zero chances in order to prevent ourselves becoming the a casualty to someone else’s joy ride. To prevent ourselves and others from being a road statistic the utmost caution is necessary at every point there could be a hazard, this doesn’t just mean slowing down on windy roads or looking at the wheels as well as the indicator on a roundabout. It means leaving more than the recommended distance between you and the car in front in case they slam the breaks, it means driving well below the speed limit on an icy day, it means seeing hazard before hazard sees you.

But this is a two-fold issue. We cannot expect to reduce driver related deaths through our own dedication to safety. Sentences must be tougher and licenses harder to obtain for offending drivers. Gaining points on a license is inconvenient, but not preventative. Whilst we can stay observant and alert to prevent accident and injury governments can introduce harder sentences and thorough check ups. Our licenses are earned through hard work and commitment to being safe on the road, have we anything to fear from a spotcheck driving observation?

We must also seek the courage to disassociate from, and further to challenge, irresponsible drivers. On New Years Eve I witnessed a man I didn’t know stumble over to his four by four to drive home. He couldn’t walk in a straight line. I walked up to him and started chatting, I asked if he would give me his car keys and said I would help him into his vehicle. After he handed them over I apologised and told him that I was concerned for his and others safety as he was clearly well over the limit. I offered to walk him home or get him a coffee. Eventually he resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn’t be driving and walked alone. I went back into the party and handed his keys to one of his friends who said they would return them the next day. Whilst this may not be everyone’s approach, you can speak up, you can challenge the friend that has had one too many drinks, or if you know they have a habit of drink driving ask them not to drive into town when you meet. If you are in a car and you don’t feel safe, tell the driver, if your friend is texting offer to send the text for them, tell them you don’t mind if they pull over. When we are silent we normalise potentially life-threatening behaviour. Let’s be champions of safety and put us before them.