Driving in the Rain Tips
SAFE DRIVING
Ido not know what your experience has been this year since the rains began. I know that for some road users and even non road users, it has been weeping and wailings while others have laughed off their near miss experiences. My candid advice irrespective of your own tale is that there is the need for us to be cautious. While some have had their experience on the road while driving, my catch this year is the sad story my staff told me about the experience of a family who lost three sons as a result of the rains. According to her story, the sad event happened on the 30th of April between the hours of 3pm and 6am at a village called Gada in Jos East local government area of Plateau state. The three boys the story continues were sent to the farm to do some work. On their way home, the rains came down heavily. Thunder struck, burnt and killed the three boys who are the entire same father; but two belong to the first wife while the third belongs to the second. Apart from Jos in Plateau State, there were ugly reminders on some hazards likely to be faced by motorist especially those who rarely heed our warnings during such period. These hazards occurred on May 5th this year when obstructions occurred as a result of fallen trees caused by windy rainfalls along the Lagos Ore expressway. These obstructions occurred on various por- tions of the road; the first was along the Lagos ore road 33km from lagos to ore; the second was at onipetesi,36km from Lagos to ore while there was another along the Ayetoro/Adewinle axis,44km from Lagos to ore. If you thought the windy rains were done with the cited ones, let me inform you that there were damages caused at Oniaraga axis, 47km from Lagos to ore, at Oni-tea axis-52km Lagos to ore while the last was the fallen trees after Oni Bridge, 57km from Lagos to Ore. Kudos to the Federal Road Safety Command at Ore, and Ajebanmidele who swiftly sought the assistance of Reynolds Construction Company Nigeria Limited in clearing the obstructions using their pay loader. These obstructions brought to the fore the wisdom in ensuring that your headlamps are on so as to be seen and to be seen by others which will be discussed in the course of this piece. As I go on, please remember that driving under special conditions such as the rainy season requires extra care, concentration, discipline and consideration. While working on this piece which I hope would run for weeks, I went on the net to sample hazards in other climes and what I found out is that in a country like the United State of America, snow and ice which are not common features in our clime are not really the most deadly; instead it is the rainy season that creates the most hazards. Rain in the US causes more driving fatalities than snow in 39 of the 50 States. Car crashes caused by rain, snow, fog or wind are the deadliest weather hazards and kills about 7000 yearly as contained in a report compiled by the Auto Insurance Centre based on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data covering crashes between 2009 and 2013..The report noted that “Even though winter conditions do generate their share of accidents, wet conditions are generally more common in many areas. And drivers are often less cautious than they might be with winter conditions,” said James Koermer, a meteorology professor emeritus at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire, who was also not involved in the report. Other experts share the same that rain is a surprising high factor to worry about especially in the Southern States where rains makes the road rather slicker especially if it has not rained for a while and oil residue builds up, impairing visibility
As we have entered another season of rainfall, we need to take necessary precautions to avoid road traffic crashes and possible deaths .Driving in the rain, like I said is more difficult and hazardous. I once ran a research finding conducted in 1988 which found out that the amount of light required to see at night doubles every thirteen years. That is, at 20years of age, you need 100% of light to see, while at 33years, you will require twice the amount of light used to see at 20.I can testify to this finding based on interactions with friends whose sight has been affected by age. The preponderant age of drivers on our roads would fall within the second category and most of these drivers within the context of our economy cannot rank among drivers on balanced diet and sound health care. It therefore means that a good number of our drivers because of other factors peculiar to us would not even fit into the 1988 conclusions by Olson and Sivac. The vital lesson however is that we cannot play down the place of visibility which is why it is safe to drive with your light on when it is raining and at night. Anytime visibility is poor, endeavor to have your head lights on.