2026 Driver Education Round 1
JUST A GLANCE HE SAID
Aondona Aondona Tivhure
Abuja Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Federal Capital Territory FCT
JUST A GLANCE HE SAID.
Staring into each other's eyes, frozen in the car with thoughts of what could have been, with her standing in front of our car, her eyes peering through our windshield. I can only imagine what she thought at that moment "Are they blind?" "Can't they drive?". If only she knew the emotions we felt all at once, the relief that she was still standing.
We were on our way to our favorite vacation place. Daddy is driving of course, Mummy is sitting next to him while the rest of us were at the back. Just as any happy family would do, we were talking, telling jokes and reminiscing on good memories.
Knowing my mum she just had to dig through her gallery and pulled out a photo of when I was quite young with the family standing behind and around me in a group picture after my team and I had won the school football competition.
It was all laughs until dad said "come on let me have a look", the roads were busy that faithful day, and we told dad in a light but cautious tone not to worry, that he would see it later because he was driving, "Just a glance, just a glance" he said. Mum leaned over to show Dad and as he chuckled they both said simultaneously "ohh look at this tiny hands and head..." I shouted "WATCH!" There were two ladies crossing the road, one with what seemed to be her 2 children and the other pushing a cart. Dad swerved towards and away from the lady with the cart in a bid to avoid hitting anyone and to avoid much casualties if there must be any. Thankfully no one was harmed, just the cart which was underneath our car. The shock in the eyes of everyone in and outside the vehicle after such a close call, said it all.
It still haunts us to this day. What a way to learn a lesson.
Sometimes I wonder if someone had lost their life that day. Thinking about it gives me chills! I think to myself, "Those people we almost hit and they have families, parents, children, the effect it could have through out the life of one or more of the children and the potential negative consequences... ohh I can not imagine". That is what our negligence could have cost.
Firstly I will say this, we acknowledged the fact that Dad's driving was impaired even if it was for a split second, but that was more than enough time for the worst to happen. Luckily he was able to avoid crippling anyone or worse. Whenever I tell this story and mention how he was impaired, most people argue, saying he was not drunk and there was no illicit drugs involved, he was just distracted, and I say that's the whole point, no matter what it was that distracted the driver and diminishes his ability to react in time is impairing the driver, be it drugs, alcohol or in our case technology (cell phone picture).
In truth, I believe that phone usage (technological impairment) is the most common form of impaired driving. Take my experience for instance, if I was not in the vehicle to raise alarm, what could have happened. Using phones when driving no matter how little, be it a glance, it can totally distract you from making that life saving split second decision. When driving you need to be fully aware of your surroundings and know that there is just a very thin margin between life and death!
Furthermore, I see that we talk about proper drivers' training, retraining and proper drivers' education but how about those around the driver, how can they contribute to help the driver drive safely. Mum and I should have insisted on the right thing that very day and waited till Dad stopped driving before showing him the picture. Of course we the passengers are not in the driver's seat literally, but we might as well be.
We all need to be fully aware once we are in a vehicle on the road. I personally now make sure that I try as much as possible to limit what ever I am doing that distracts and impairs the concentration of whoever it is in the driver's seat. This is not just a driver education issue it is a universal issue that we need to fix, yes the road safety agencies and driving instructors will do their bit in properly educating a driver or potential driver, but it can only come so far if the passenger or "friends" of the driver are actively dividing his attention, persuading him or her to have a drink or "look at a picture" knowing fully well that it can divide concentration and must importantly reduce reaction time in dire situations.
In conclusion, I urge us all to please limit what so ever that can impaire your driver's concentration or impair you as a driver. Failure to adhere to this piece of advice may cause you to experience a worse lesson than I did. According to the World Health Organization 1.9 million people die annually as a result of road accidents, and I am sure that those are just the ones that they could count.
If we reduce accidents caused by impaired driving, it can go the distance in significantly reducing these fatalities, but can we?
Staring into each other's eyes, frozen in the car with thoughts of what could have been, with her standing in front of our car, her eyes peering through our windshield. I can only imagine what she thought at that moment "Are they blind?" "Can't they drive?". If only she knew the emotions we felt all at once, the relief that she was still standing.
We were on our way to our favorite vacation place. Daddy is driving of course, Mummy is sitting next to him while the rest of us were at the back. Just as any happy family would do, we were talking, telling jokes and reminiscing on good memories.
Knowing my mum she just had to dig through her gallery and pulled out a photo of when I was quite young with the family standing behind and around me in a group picture after my team and I had won the school football competition.
It was all laughs until dad said "come on let me have a look", the roads were busy that faithful day, and we told dad in a light but cautious tone not to worry, that he would see it later because he was driving, "Just a glance, just a glance" he said. Mum leaned over to show Dad and as he chuckled they both said simultaneously "ohh look at this tiny hands and head..." I shouted "WATCH!" There were two ladies crossing the road, one with what seemed to be her 2 children and the other pushing a cart. Dad swerved towards and away from the lady with the cart in a bid to avoid hitting anyone and to avoid much casualties if there must be any. Thankfully no one was harmed, just the cart which was underneath our car. The shock in the eyes of everyone in and outside the vehicle after such a close call, said it all.
It still haunts us to this day. What a way to learn a lesson.
Sometimes I wonder if someone had lost their life that day. Thinking about it gives me chills! I think to myself, "Those people we almost hit and they have families, parents, children, the effect it could have through out the life of one or more of the children and the potential negative consequences... ohh I can not imagine". That is what our negligence could have cost.
Firstly I will say this, we acknowledged the fact that Dad's driving was impaired even if it was for a split second, but that was more than enough time for the worst to happen. Luckily he was able to avoid crippling anyone or worse. Whenever I tell this story and mention how he was impaired, most people argue, saying he was not drunk and there was no illicit drugs involved, he was just distracted, and I say that's the whole point, no matter what it was that distracted the driver and diminishes his ability to react in time is impairing the driver, be it drugs, alcohol or in our case technology (cell phone picture).
In truth, I believe that phone usage (technological impairment) is the most common form of impaired driving. Take my experience for instance, if I was not in the vehicle to raise alarm, what could have happened. Using phones when driving no matter how little, be it a glance, it can totally distract you from making that life saving split second decision. When driving you need to be fully aware of your surroundings and know that there is just a very thin margin between life and death!
Furthermore, I see that we talk about proper drivers' training, retraining and proper drivers' education but how about those around the driver, how can they contribute to help the driver drive safely. Mum and I should have insisted on the right thing that very day and waited till Dad stopped driving before showing him the picture. Of course we the passengers are not in the driver's seat literally, but we might as well be.
We all need to be fully aware once we are in a vehicle on the road. I personally now make sure that I try as much as possible to limit what ever I am doing that distracts and impairs the concentration of whoever it is in the driver's seat. This is not just a driver education issue it is a universal issue that we need to fix, yes the road safety agencies and driving instructors will do their bit in properly educating a driver or potential driver, but it can only come so far if the passenger or "friends" of the driver are actively dividing his attention, persuading him or her to have a drink or "look at a picture" knowing fully well that it can divide concentration and must importantly reduce reaction time in dire situations.
In conclusion, I urge us all to please limit what so ever that can impaire your driver's concentration or impair you as a driver. Failure to adhere to this piece of advice may cause you to experience a worse lesson than I did. According to the World Health Organization 1.9 million people die annually as a result of road accidents, and I am sure that those are just the ones that they could count.
If we reduce accidents caused by impaired driving, it can go the distance in significantly reducing these fatalities, but can we?
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