Nov 09 2009
How To Avoid Crashes
After a week and a half of overseas driving, I missed a few things about Singapore but one thing I didn’t miss were the local drivers. For one thing, it was superbly refreshing to drive without being constantly tail-gated, which is perhaps consistently the biggest driving sin committed by Singaporean drivers.
We have it good here – Singapore’s roads are generally in great condition and we don’t have to put up with things like ice, snow, large animals jumping out of hedges, hurricanes or speeding-obsessed policemen. Perhaps not having to worry about things like that has made people here deteriorate at the helm.
To quote an extremely experienced driving companion, “Singaporeans simply don’t know any better, which is why they go overseas and get themselves killed on foreign roads.” Ouch.
I’ve probably mentioned it before, but hey, if it helps make a few people change their ways, then it’s worth it.
And now I’ll let you in on the secret: how to avoid avoid the vast majority of road accidents, barring being rammed into by tail-gaters, drunkards or things outside of your control (5-10 percent, on any given day).
The idea is, you can logically expect to avoid most accidents if you don’t crash into anything. And you can logically expect to not crash into anything by looking ahead of you and adjusting your speed accordingly. So if you give your constant attention (and not many do) to what’s coming up ahead, you can thus expect to avoid almost any obstacle.
Formula One driver Nick Heidfeld was asked about the best driving advice to give anyone. He said, “Always keep a safe distance and look far ahead.” Simple.
Seeing as to how people can get into five car pile-ups on a two-lane road with a 70km/h speed limit, let alone the highway, more need to take this advice to heart. It’s really as easy as that.
Drive safe!
One response so far
Does a car colliding another car from behind is always in the wrong espcially when there is no damages to both cars?
While waiting for the traffic light to turn green, my car was therefore stationary and was behind a taxi.
However after travelling a few feet ,the taxi suddenly stopped and claimed that is was to avoid a collison with a lorry which was on another lane and was turning right whil the taxi was making a U turn.
As my car was in the first gear and therefore travelling at a slow speed,the taxi braked his car suddenly alleging that a lorry was cutting into his path.I did not notice any lorry.
My car collided with the taxi as both cars were in close proximity because both cars were waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
Both the taxi driver and I inspected our cars and we agreed that there was no9 damages to both cars.
]The taxi driver said that because he ios not the owner of the taxi, he has to inform the taxi owner of the accident.
The owner claimed that his taxi was damaged.
I recevied a report of the damages that the taxi had sustained because of the collision, amounting to $2361.
I was surprised that the officer from my insurance told me that the taxi had been repaired but he was sending a surveyor to view both cars.
Surely the surveyor from my insurance company should have carried out the inspection of the taxi before and not after any repairs made to the taxi.Instaed, my insurance officer said that he will be sending a surveyor to inspect my car weeks after the accident.
I think that LTA sahould change the laws that no repairs should be done until after both surveyors of both cars have submitted their report.Secondly,there should not be a law that all accidents that occur, the car that collide the car in front is always guilty of negligence irrespective of how the collison came about.