Tips to Travel during Festive Season
Please follow the following tips to travel safely during festive season. Please share this post so that we can reach maximum people, save yourself and others.
1. Over Speed:
Primary reason for the road crashes is speed. Please maintain the speed depending on the visibility on the road, for example, if you can't see more than 50 meters drive only below 30 KMPH so that you can stop the vehicle by braking in an emergency. As the speed increases the impact of the accident become more severe.
2. Improper Overtaking:
While overtaking or when there is no clear visibility on opposite direction, take the following precautions
Don't overtake at the curves, where you cannot see the traffic approaching from opposite direction clearly. If you overtake at these places there may be chance of getting an accident with the oncoming vehicle as shown in the picture. A truck collided with TSRTC Bus on 07/10/2015 in Nalgonda district at a turning and caused death of 9 passengers and the driver of the bus.
On the crest of hill, you may not see the traffic coming in the opposite direction unless you reach
Don’t overtake behind the overtaking vehicle, in the below figure, the driver of the car trying to take a loaded truck and already the empty truck is overtaking the loaded truck. The empty truck driver and the bus driver is having eye contact and they will be safe, but the car driver doesn’t know about the vehicle coming in opposite direction and the bus driver also doesn’t know about the car. Finally bus and car may collide head on.
3. Drunken driving:
Drunken driving causes loss of control on vehicles and will cause the following errors discussed. Hence don't drink and drive.
Drunken Driving or under the influence of drugs:
"A drunken road user poses a risk not just to himself but to other people as well". Alcohol causes serious driving errors such as
Driving too fast or slow
Driving in the wrong lane
Running over the footpath
Changing lanes dangerously
Not signalling
Failure to use lights
Quick and jerky starts
Ignoring stop lights and red lights
4. Cell phone driving and distraction:
Using of cell phone causes visual, manual and mental distractions. Apart from that, when you see the screen of a phone and then immediately on the road it reduces your vision as your eye needs to adjust to the light. In this gap you may not see the objects on the road and cause the traffic crash. Whenever you want make a call or answer a call always remember to stop your vehicle at safe place and complete the call, then start your journey. According to the United States Department of Transportation, "text messaging while driving creates a crash risk of 23 times higher than driving while not distracted.
Distraction due to the following also causes severe effect on the driving Children activities in the vehicle.
Taking water bottles or some articles in the car.
Operating DVD/CD Player.
Watching movies on screen.
Discussion and arguments with co passengers.
Concentrating on road side activities rather than on road.
Each fraction of second is important while driving, for example if you are driving at a speed of 100 KMPH, the vehicle travels 28 meters in a second and needs at least 130 meters to stop the vehicle.