SAFE DRIVING ETIQUETTE FOR EVERY SEASON

Like in my own part of the world, the rainy season is here and it's a season where many fall a victim or make others a victim out of their careless and inattentive traffic usage. This short notes aim at pointing out very few and very basic precautions we should take to avoid wrong traffic usage and primarily accidents. This is not just for the rainy season but at also every other time of the year and round. I choose to emphasize on the rainy season because mistakes are most likely made during this time and usually hard to control. Let's check these out...

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Avoid distractions such as putting on makeup, snacking, using your phone, this interferes with your ability to respond physically & mentally. Don't doubt this, I've personally seen people do these a whole lot and it putts me in a very scary mood just because of the fact that if anything happens at that moment, an innocent road user might also be affected and it could be just anybody.

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Using your turn signals (trafficator), signal your intentions before negotiating a corner or switching into another lane. It's not just safe but also shows courtesy. You should make it a point of duty to be sure your signal lights are all functioning before hitting the commercial road. Failure to engage i this act has led to many unplanned incidents that results in damages, loss of life and confusion on commercial roads.

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Keep a safe driving space, this could simply be some distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Tailgating is not just aggressive but also a sure way to rear-end someone who stops suddenly. This space will keep you safe where there's an unexpected halt by the vehicle ahead of you, it gives your brain more time to plan a damage control and a right action to take. If you can't see the wheels of the vehicle in front of you while doing 15km/hr and above, you are too close

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Stay and keep to your lane – lanes are marked for a reason. Drive/ride between the lines, try not to straddle them. Straddling breaks the trend and squeezes the size of the road thereby making negotiations difficult for traffics who wishes to do so and when there's a challenge in negotiating, it keeps other traffic waiting causing a go-slow.

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No one else will likely be pleased to hear your speakers blaring, so keep the volume of your audio player low enough only for the people in your car. Most cities go extra miles to fight noise pollution, don't be a nuisance by causing inconveniences to other road users or getting the traffic officers stressed/stress you for what you think is comfort to you.

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Keep your hands, eyes, ears, lips and other functioning parts of your body, even your mind to yourself when driving. Smooching and other forms of affection should be pushed aside, this is not the time for PDA. Not everything that's seen in movies should be practiced, movies are scripted and carefully acted art, there are spelt out precautions that are carefully followed.

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Sorry if I sound bias at this point, to the ladies mostly, if you're being driven please avoid distracting the driver and never engage in arguments with the driver. This act might rob his/her focus which isn't healthy to the passengers. A driver should be allowed to pay maximum attention to the environment and stay alert in traffic.

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Where it's raining or whenever visibility is poor, turn on your headlights to help your car stay visible to other drivers. t's very important to avoid negligence for yourself and other people, good visibility is key.

Try not to speed over puddles of water, it's not always healthy for your car and also can be very offensive and disrespectful to pedestrians. If you can't give them a ride, don't splash a drop on them.Step into portholes and puddles carefully. A mindful person is expected to slow down even at the sight of a mirage, it could be anything else.

We gain a certain magnitude of respect when we show maturity, in this context, maturity can be a simple act like trying to lose the territorial attitude, understanding that the road belongs to us all and let the other guy pass. This doesn't take so much from you but some seconds out of your time that'd save you minutes ahead.

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Some states have designed lanes for emergency vehicles, keep off that lane, never try to use it so as to beat traffic, emergencies are not planned, they happen by accident. where the emergency vehicles share the same lane with other road users, pull over for them, they're always on the verge of saving other precious lives. If you hear a siren, pull over for the emergency vehicle to pass, someone's life may be at stake.

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Don't move too slow especially on highways, try to keep up with the normal flow of traffic, sometimes collisions are actually caused by driving drivers driving slowly on highways. Leave the speed lane if you're running at a lower pace than the the vehicle on the other lanes, horn before overtaking and don't overtake at corners. Mind the blind spot and don't forget "objects on the mirror are closer than you see" is an ambiguous statement that either tells that the mirror is sowing them to be closer than they really are or they're closer in reality than what the mirror is reflecting. Finally, wear your seat-belt always, even when you intend on covering a very short distance.

"remove the log in your eye, and then you will see clearly to deal with the speck in another person's eye"

STAY SAFE