One: Overtaking on two-lane, two-way traffic streets anywhere in Spain. Also making a left turn across oncoming traffic.
Two: Speeding, i.e. exceeding the speed limit, or using excessive speed for road conditions at the time.
Three: Exhaustion. i.e. Driver Fatigue
Four: Driving while impaired by drink or drugs.
Five: Dangerous and reckless driving without regard for others.
Six: Tailgating and inattention.
Seven: Driving on the wrong side of the road and clockwise around a roundabout.
(THREE & FOUR):
FATIGUE AND DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE
Do you like a good horror story? I do, as long as it is intelligent, plausible, well written and without gratuitous formula shock effects. “The Exorcist”, “Salem’s Lot”, and “The Amityville Horror” are three examples of what I regard as good writing.
We are all living a horror story but I don’t suppose any of us like this one. The plot centres on the fact that when we say goodbye to our family when leaving the house, we really don’t know whether it’s a permanent goodbye or not. Now, I know there are worse places to live than Spain where daily insecurity is concerned. Iraq comes to mind immediately, but Spain is not a war zone. It is supposed to be a civilized country, but yet we are killing one another in droves on our roads, and we don’t seem to be doing enough to stop the carnage.
If ever a statistic tells of an increase in road fatalities, that would be a trend that is going the wrong way. There is a monster about, as evil as anything conjured up in the minds of the master horror writers. This monster is hungry and it needs to be fed. So, who’s to be its next meal? You? Me? One of us it must be. For the monster wants to be fed and it really doe not care who it takes next.
This year approximately 3,000 people will die prematurely on Spain’s roads. The real tragedy is that no-one absolutely has to die. I know, I have said this before and I must continue to say that these are all avoidable events. In spite of the numbers all these deaths are the exception to the rule, although one could be forgiven for believing this to be the norm.
Driver fatigue is a major cause of fatal accidents. “ He fell asleep at the wheel” is such a common cause of what occurred. You might have wondered what that white strip painted on the road is for that makes a loud noise when you drive on it. That’s a rumble strip, and sometime it runs alongside the road or across it, but the purpose is the same: to wake up drivers who are falling asleep, or who are asleep. When we take our place behind the steering wheel we take charge of a guided missile. The responsibilities that go along with that are awesome.
I knew a man once who killed a pregnant lady because he allowed his attention to stray. That raised the question for me: “How does one live with one’s self following such an event?” For many months after the event I would see him out walking, and he would be talking out loud to himself, or he would be crying. Eventually he disappeared off the radar, presumably he ended up in a psychiatric hospital.
A child once ran out in front of my car, stopped and just stood there frozen in fright. I had anticipated that might happen because I could see that he was not being supervised, so I conducted myself accordingly to ensure that the event was not going to happen. That did not stop the nightmares from coming, and the image of that child staring up at me is one that is stamped on my mind, never to be erased. And remember, nothing happened.
So much has been written about not driving after drinking. Everybody in the world knows it is foolhardy to do so, but until the world we live in decides that we are sick and tired of such nonsense and we are not going to participate or tolerate in it anymore, the monster will have as much to devour as it wants.
Want to get started now to starve the monster? Try the following simple things:
- Going out for the evening? The one to drive home stays free of alcohol.
- Don’t want to do that, take along someone as the designated driver.
- Take a taxi there and back. The price of the taxi will be well worth it.
- Moderate your alcohol intake. Think about how long it will take for your body to purge itself of booze before you can safely and legally drive again. Very often, the police conduct sobriety tests between 8am and 10am when people are on their way to work. They may still be intoxicated from the night before.
Death on the Roads? It doesn’t have to end that way!
Don’t overtake on two-way road systems. Save your life for those who love you!
Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael
Do you like a good horror story? I do, as long as it is intelligent, plausible, well written and without gratuitous formula shock effects. “The Exorcist”, “Salem’s Lot”, and “The Amityville Horror” are three examples of what I regard as good writing.
We are all living a horror story but I don’t suppose any of us like this one. The plot centres on the fact that when we say goodbye to our family when leaving the house, we really don’t know whether it’s a permanent goodbye or not. Now, I know there are worse places to live than Spain where daily insecurity is concerned. Iraq comes to mind immediately, but Spain is not a war zone. It is supposed to be a civilized country, but yet we are killing one another in droves on our roads, and we don’t seem to be doing enough to stop the carnage.
If ever a statistic tells of an increase in road fatalities, that would be a trend that is going the wrong way. There is a monster about, as evil as anything conjured up in the minds of the master horror writers. This monster is hungry and it needs to be fed. So, who’s to be its next meal? You? Me? One of us it must be. For the monster wants to be fed and it really doe not care who it takes next.
This year approximately 3,000 people will die prematurely on Spain’s roads. The real tragedy is that no-one absolutely has to die. I know, I have said this before and I must continue to say that these are all avoidable events. In spite of the numbers all these deaths are the exception to the rule, although one could be forgiven for believing this to be the norm.
Driver fatigue is a major cause of fatal accidents. “ He fell asleep at the wheel” is such a common cause of what occurred. You might have wondered what that white strip painted on the road is for that makes a loud noise when you drive on it. That’s a rumble strip, and sometime it runs alongside the road or across it, but the purpose is the same: to wake up drivers who are falling asleep, or who are asleep. When we take our place behind the steering wheel we take charge of a guided missile. The responsibilities that go along with that are awesome.
I knew a man once who killed a pregnant lady because he allowed his attention to stray. That raised the question for me: “How does one live with one’s self following such an event?” For many months after the event I would see him out walking, and he would be talking out loud to himself, or he would be crying. Eventually he disappeared off the radar, presumably he ended up in a psychiatric hospital.
A child once ran out in front of my car, stopped and just stood there frozen in fright. I had anticipated that might happen because I could see that he was not being supervised, so I conducted myself accordingly to ensure that the event was not going to happen. That did not stop the nightmares from coming, and the image of that child staring up at me is one that is stamped on my mind, never to be erased. And remember, nothing happened.
So much has been written about not driving after drinking. Everybody in the world knows it is foolhardy to do so, but until the world we live in decides that we are sick and tired of such nonsense and we are not going to participate or tolerate in it anymore, the monster will have as much to devour as it wants.
Want to get started now to starve the monster? Try the following simple things:
- Going out for the evening? The one to drive home stays free of alcohol.
- Don’t want to do that, take along someone as the designated driver.
- Take a taxi there and back. The price of the taxi will be well worth it.
- Moderate your alcohol intake. Think about how long it will take for your body to purge itself of booze before you can safely and legally drive again. Very often, the police conduct sobriety tests between 8am and 10am when people are on their way to work. They may still be intoxicated from the night before.
Death on the Roads? It doesn’t have to end that way!
Don’t overtake on two-way road systems. Save your life for those who love you!
Copyright © 2008 Eugene Carmichael
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