Some people immediately run around shouting "LAWYER, SUE. COMPENSATION". But when we look at the details of those cases, the only people who come out ahead are the legal fraternity. I noted a recent comment in the press that middle aged men are a high risk group for broken wrists, forearms, sprainedankles and contusions as a result of falls about the home while carrying out such minor tasks as changing light bulbs and maintenance which requires getting up on ladders and chairs. So, men and boys of this Association, you know what we shouldn't be doing anymore. Right? Right!
In road accidents the human factor of the driver is still significant, but do you always carry out basic safety checks on yourself, your car and your driving environment before going out? Let's run through some essential daily checks that can help to reduce your stress levels. These checks start from the moment you decide to get out of bed each day. Are you actually safe to go driving today? No headaches, from what ever cause, which could inhibit your decision making and operating ability? No physical impairments that may prevent you from turning your head quickly to watch for traffic? Or press hard on that brake pedal? Got the right glasses with you? What's the weather like today? Wet roads? Local flooding? Fog or smoke about? Very cold and your heater isn't working? So you'll shiver as you drive.
As you walk out to your car, do you always do a quick all over check, a walk around? All tyres and wheels correctly attached, pointing in the right direction and serviceable? All panels and lights correctly attached and looking functional? Nothing hanging down underneath, or untoward pools of liquid forming from your vehicle's secretions? No bottles, tins, bricks, pets or children where you might drive over them? Check, and correct if necessary, that all of your vision glass is clean before you get in. And those windscreen wipers, are they as they should be? Nice new rubbers? Once seated, always remove any mechanical steering, or other security lock, BEFORE you put the key in the ignition. Every now and then there are accident reports of aircraft which have taken off with their control locks in place, a correct pre- flight check says that this is impossible. But it happens. I'm sure that everyday someone in this country drives off with a steering lock in place, but we just don't hear about it.
Do you have enough petrol to get where you want to? Are you going to make sure of it? Recently a twin engine aircraft was involved in a serious (non-fatal) accident because, it appears, that the pilots assumed that there was enough fuel for their intended flight. They got less than ten minutes into their flight. Ooops! At least in a car it couldn't be too serious if you ran out of fuel unexpectedly. Unless there was a fully loaded semitrailer right behind you, or on the interstate rail level crossing with an XPT on the way, or the inbound lane of the Indooroopilly Bridge at 8.00am on a weekday!
Make yourself comfortable now, adjust the seat, and steering wheel, if needed. Make sure that the seatbeltÆs lock will lock. Do all of the pedals and the steering wheel feel right? No free play, in any direction? When you start the engine, do it with the radio/cassette/CD off, listen to your engine, does it sound right and happy? Do all of the warning lights go off as they should? Take a moment to fold your sunshade and put it away. Put away any other loose objects, tidy up. Turn on your radio and select your entertainment before you drive off. Mobile phone hands free kit set up? Fiddling with these devices causes accidents quite frequently. In fact, from figures published by the insurance industry, there are grounds to ban these things from our cars!
Having checked all these things and that it's all clear, as you drive off, do you consciously check that the steering and brakes are behaving as they should? I recently drove a ride-on mower (not a Honda) which had funny steering in reverse, okay, for a ride-on mower, whilst going anywhere. The right drag link was no longer bolted to the wheel arm, and the previous user hadn't noticed (or didn't want to). Due to the mechanics and geometry of our cars steering, many of them can be driving with a similar situation, reverse is a different matter. (Some Hondas do have zero caster and camber and could be unpredictable in this situation.)
Now that you've come this far, make sure that all of those things that you learnt in your Defensive Driving Courses are to the fore of your thought processes, all the way to your destination and continue until the car is put away and locked up. Remember, whilst most accidents have a number of causal factors, it only takes the weakest link to break and then things aggregate. Make sure that you're not the one there through any action of your own.
