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Learn to drive selflessly, sensibly, motorists told
Motorists should train themselves to set aside negative emotions such as selfishness and rage while at the wheel even in low speed situations to ensure the safety of themselves and others, a workshop on road safety heard
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otorists should train themselves to set aside negative emotions such as selfishness and rage while at the wheel even in low speed situations to ensure the safety of themselves and others, a workshop on road safety heard.
"Would you give way to another motorists so that he could move in front of you?" Fitra Eri, a professional race car driver, asked one of the participants at the workshop on Saturday.
Responding to the question, one participant, Herlambang, responded, "why should I? If I gave way to a motorist, others would then also take the spot and I would never arrive at my destination".
Another participant, Aris Candra, who drives a Toyota Fortuner, said he admitted that he tended to be easily provoked at the wheel.
"I once slapped a motorcycle rider across the head because he suddenly cut me off," he said.
Fitra said road rage was a major contributing factor in traffic accidents.
"Because of that selfish attitude, motorists have a tendency to keep their front fender close to the rear fender of the car ahead," Fitra said, adding that such behavior could cause minor or even major accidents in heavy traffic.
Insurance companies last year reported that more than 50 percent of claims made by its customers were for minor fender damage.
However, he warned motorists that they could cause major accidents if they carried on with their selfish behavior on toll roads or highways.
"We should always maintain a safe distance of no less than two seconds to the car ahead of us to prevent severe collisions should they suddenly use their brakes," he said.
He explained a way for a driver to ensure they were two seconds behind the vehicle in front. He said the driver should match his car's speed with that of the vehicle in front and then count to two.
Road range and selfishness on the road are not the only factors that cause accidents, he said. Reckless driving, he said, was another major cause.
Garda Oto Racing Team manager Taqwa S.S. said, "Reports by insurance companies show that using your phone while driving or turning on the hazard lights unnecessarily and fatigue at the wheel are the three factors that topped the list of types of reckless driving that cause accidents".
Taqwa said fatigue or using a cellular phone while driving could cause a driver to lose focus and engage in reckless driving.
"Drivers should only turn on their hazard lights in an emergency situation."
"Behind them, the motorists who see the flashing lights will get used to them," he said, adding that they would then not be alert to cars using their indicators to turn left or right.
Currently, more than 2 million cars and 3.7 million motorcycles use the city's streets every day.
Last year, 1,016 people were killed and 7,000 injured in 6,896 traffic accidents in the city, around 70 percent of which were caused by human error, including reckless driving, police say.
