My Top 5 to stay alive

A couple of weeks back, I wrote about the dangers of excessive speeding on public roads, citing the completely avoidable car accident caused by Baldwin Dee Co in his high-powered Mustang GT on Black Saturday that claimed the life of a police officer and seriously injured three of his colleagues.

Although the overwhelming majority agreed, sharing the article almost five thousand times in the first week on the philstar website alone, sadly, there are still those who feel that the Mustang GT of Co did not cause the accident, and that the association made in my column to high-end car clubs conducting high speed runs was unfair as it painted out all folks with super cars as grossly irresponsible, selfish brats.

I won’t waste valuable space defending the views in my column despite getting  numerous venomous messages from untraceable prepaid SIMs, dummy email accounts and fake Facebook profiles, because aside from the fact that flight is an indication of guilt and Baldwin Co is still on the run, the mere fact that I got more messages from responsible super car owners and car clubs who supported my column than I did from those who felt victimized or singled out by it goes to show that the message was universal, not personal.

But having said that, as much as I feel that there is no defense for Co’s actions, I do feel there are many other lessons asides from speeding that we can learn from this accident, as well as the hundreds that occur on Philippine roads every single day. So in no particular order, here are my top five.

1. Hogging the left lane.

Not enough can be said about this. Hogging the left lane is like standing in the only urinal in a busy bathroom reading a book, taking your time, waiting for nature to eventually call, while a line of people who really need to go have to wait unnecessarily and end up doing silly things out of sheer desperation. I’m not trying to suggest the Montero was doing just that (perhaps it was overtaking the slowing Adventure) I mention it only to draw attention to the habitual lane-hoggers who force people to to make a dangerous decision to overtake on the right lane, or worse, the shoulder where a car is broken down.

While a valid argument can be made that two wrongs don’t make a right, and the usual defense of the left lane squatter is that he/she is on the speed limit, the bottom line here is, if you’re not overtaking, do NOT be on the overtaking lane. If you see someone coming up fast behind you, get out of the way. As self-righteous as it may seem to do your bit, nobody appointed you to be a human speed limiter. And trying to be one only aggravates an already aggressive driver. You want to do something productive? If someone is being overly reckless and aggressive, call the highway hotlines and report the idiot. They will alert the traffic control room, track them then set up a patrol unit ahead to apprehend them.

2. Speed kills.

While it is obvious that had the Mustang GT been traveling within the posted limits he would have had time to avoid the collision, what is not nearly as well-publicized or penalized are the effects of under-speeding. It does not apply to the Black Saturday crash as the Adventure had suffered a puncture and needed to slow down and eventually pull over, but it draws attention to the dangers of not keeping up with the pace of traffic, which turns you into a moving chicane.

While some might think it is safer to drive slow, jeepneys and other dilapidated unroadworthy vehicles plying our expressways under the posted limit of 60 km/h can cause just as much carnage as a car doing 160 km/h.

3. Buckle up. No matter how short the trip.

I once asked the head of GM’s safety division, Brian Callaghan, what was the greatest safety feature ever invented. He said without a moment’s hesitation, “The seatbelt.” In fact, the invention was so good that Volvo refused to patent it. But just like medicines, they only work if you use them.

Sadly, judging by the remaining survivors in the Adventure, one could argue that the police officer who died in the Black Saturday crash because he was thrown from the vehicle and eventually run over by the Montero, could have been alive today had he worn his seatbelt. So whether you’re traveling near or far, remember to click clack, front and back.

4. Texting while Driving

You wouldn’t jump in a speeding car with a blind person behind the wheel would you? Yet if you consider that even at a very modest 100kph, every second that you take your eyes off the road equates to 26 meters where you’re driving blind, how is that any different?

5. Driving under the influence.

While we all know that drinking and driving can make even Fernando Alonso drive like Mr. Bean. It doesn’t always have to be alcohol that impairs you. Perhaps you have had a spike in blood pressure, or a reaction to medication, a bout of food poisoning, whatever. If you feel that it is no longer safe to drive, don’t. If you are out and need to get yourself home and don’t want to leave your car behind, Lifeline Ambulance offer a driver on call service that sends a team of two highly trained drivers to drive you home in your car, while a rapid response unit (the Spark of life) tails you to make sure everyone gets home in one piece.

NLEX Hotlines

(I tried it, it works) (02) 3-5000

SLEX Hotlines (02) 776-7777

SCTEX Hotline 0920-96-SCTEX

Lifeline Driver on call

(02) 16911

You can follow the author on @jdeakin72 on Twitter.