Keeping Safe Distance Is Not Safe

He died at 46 years. He left his 87-year-old mama. His siblings. Wife. Children. Friends. And relatives. All of these are mourning the loss of a young man I knew some years back while in the trenches with his senior brother, whose name I have chosen to omit. We had not seen each other for years since I moved away from Lagos to pursue my life ambition and passion.

Strangely, his death almost passed me by until I stumbled on a post by his brother that tore my heart and soul and even my flesh to pieces. My hurt was not that he passed on to be with the Almighty. Not that he passed on too early. It was the circumstance of his death and the trauma the loved ones passed through at the medical centre that threw me off balance,

While we bless God that he is in a better place, I have chosen as my last respect to him, since I couldn’t attend physically, to recount faintly, the circumstances of his death as an intervention to guide others from becoming victims of avoidable road traffic crashes. I said avoidable, because most of the about five thousand plus fatalities that we record annually on our roads, whether on the highway or even within cities like his, are avoidable if we take to heart the numerous gospels of staying safe and alive.

Based on my experience, many drivers are not drivers. Even a plethora of those who claim to be licensed, with years of experience on the wheels, are not drivers but quacks. Agreed that they can move vehicles, but they lack the knowledge, the skills, and the attitude to navigate through our roads with all the crazy beings who call themselves drivers.

I know that I teach drivers to keep a safe distance. I tell them that maintaining a safe distance is paramount to staying alive. As a teacher of the defensive driving technique, I tell them that the gap or distance should be between two and three seconds or four as contained on page 83 of the Revised Highway Code captioned, A SIMPLE WAY TO KEEP SAFE DISTANCE.

That section advises road users that to keep a safe distance, you must always apply the simple rule known as the SECOND RULE. The SECOND RULE is broken into the two-second, the three-second and the four-second rule. Let me start from the rear by treating the four-second rule, which is applicable when the weather conditions are bad and requires that the extra jingle-“safer and saner”-be added to gain extra distance.

Unlike the four-second rule, the two- and three-second rules come in handy in different driving scenarios. So, let us start with the two seconds, which simply advises you to choose a stationary object in front of the vehicle ahead, near or above the road while driving. It could be a road sign, tree, or overpass, as well as any convenient object. As the vehicle ahead passes it, recite slowly, ’staying too close ‘or trailing for safety. You can look up the three-second rule and internalise it for your safety.

That is the standard you see in almost all materials or hear resource persons preach whenever they deliver defensive driving technique lectures. But because I believe in staying alive, I tell my students to follow my rule of thumb and keep a distance of five or even ten seconds. The lesson here is to ensure that your driving guarantees a measure of safety in our climate, which totally contravenes the typical Nigerian tailgating, devoid of patience.

If you can spare the time, you can look up page 124 of the REVISED Highway CODE, captioned, Defensive driving and safe driving practices for more on the Second rule. For now, let me recap what I remember concerning the crash that killed my friend. I read that the incident occurred on a Sunday while he was driving to church with his entire family.

According to a post on the incident, a tricycle rider, in their typical mad and irresponsible driving reminiscent of okada riders, swiftly made a 180-degree turn without traffic, which is common with these operators. In an attempt to avoid colliding with the tricycle, he lost control and crashed into a stationary vehicle. And sustained severe injuries.

I don’t have the heart to recap the clumsy circumstance that led to his death, which could have been averted if the hospital authorities lived up to their billing. Recounting it will not bring him back to life, but all I can say is that it is a recurring story of neglect and unprofessionalism experienced by victims in some of our health facilities.

But while I worry over the conduct of the hospital facility, certain questions keep pricking my heart: at what speed was he driving before the crash occurred? What distance did he keep in line with the Second Rule? What distractions may have affected his reaction time? Smart phone? Gist? Child distraction is common when families drive to Church on a Sunday. What? Any of these could have affected how he reacted to the tricycle rider’s sudden turn.

While we ponder these posers, please allow me to return to our focus: keeping a safe distance on a road where distracted driving is a concern and perfecting our reaction time in the event of a possible crash. I am talking about smartphone distractions. Toggling radio channels. Quick glances through the window, all of which add to the distractions and add to our reaction time.

For emphasis, keeping a larger gap according to my gospel, between you and the vehicle ahead, does not equate to safer driving. The first is that large spaces have a psychological effect on traffic behind you. To get you to close the gap, the driver behind you will move closer, honk and in some cases, shout to force you to close the gap. Annoyance or possible fear may cause you to increase speed and close the gap

To minimise this scenario, which is also contained in the fundamentals of defensive driving, you are advised to be aware of ‘mad’ drivers by ensuring that your safety does not depend on their actions or reactions. Therefore, with safety and safe driving as your focus, you are advised to move to the right/slow lane intended for vehicles travelling at the speed limit, thereby allowing speed freaks and mad drivers to pass.

Remember, we spoke about in-car distractions, whether mounted or not, which often cause vehicles to drift out of their lanes. We must avoid looking at any devices at all while behind the wheel. As I draw the curtain, remember that defensive driving preaches obedience to all rules, including speed obedience, and strapping every occupant, both young and old. It ensures everyone is securely fastened and restrains occupants in the event of a mishap, thereby reducing the severity of injuries. In summary, you must obey all rules. Keeping a safe distance won’t save you if you pay lip service to other safety rules, such as speed, lane discipline, and distracted driving, among others.