This was the front page headline in today’s EDP (Eastern Daily Press), warning readers that it has emerged drivers are 3 times more likely to be killed in a rural area than in a city.  This is no surprise to those of us in road safety, having been aware for a long time that the highest casualty rate is on rural roads (the lowest on motorways, which sort of puts paid to the ’speed kills’ argument!).  Naturally speed is quoted in the article, which is correct when you consider many of these crashes are single vehicle, the driver losing control on a bend, or perhaps as a result of skidding on mud, but the speed may not necessarily have been above the posted legal limit: many crashes on rural roads are due to the driver being unaware that his speed, which may be significantly below the speed limit, is still too fast for the conditions.  Stephen Haley, in ‘Mind Driving’, Skill 7, Risk Assessment and Control, clearly explains the difference in ability to stop in time in single track space, between meeting a stationary object around a slight bend, and meeting a moving object coming towards you, both of you using the standard stopping distance rule: the result of the 2nd is catastrophic!  Where space is limited to one vehicle, a driver’s speed should be significantly reduced on approach to a bend, no matter how slight, to account for all the possibilities, all the what ifs?:

• What if I meet another vehicle coming towards me and using all the available space?  Is a horn warning appropriate here (think horses!)?
• What if there is a large, slow-moving vehicle just around this next bend, could I stop in time?
• 
• What if I meet a horse and rider? (Are there any clues, eg fresh horse manure on the road?)
• What if I meet people walking, maybe with dogs?
• What if a deer, or other animal ran in front of me now?  (Visually scan the area around as you may catch a glimpse of such animals before they appear on the road)
• What if I hit a patch of mud, or grease, when I need to stop for another road user?
• What if I meet a group of cyclists?

In the countryside the list goes on!  Deceptively beautiful and quiet but holding more dangers for the unsuspecting driver than the busiest town centre or motorway!

Enjoy your drive along the lanes of this beautiful countryside of ours, but don’t be lulled into a false sense of security.  Take CARE!

With the summer we never had now behind us, it’s time to make all those necessary vehicle maintenance checks so you are prepared for the winter:

• antifreeze
• oil
• screenwash with antifreeze
• tyres: minimum legal tread depth is 1.6mm but caremotoring recommends at least 2mm
• washers and wipers
• lights (already there seem to be quite a lot of vehicles with one headlight out, and this is illegal)

If you have front fog or spotlights on your vehicle, please remember it is illegal to use these when visibility is greater than 100 metres so they should NOT be used at night to give you extra light, or because you think they look nice, because they dazzle other drivers and so can be potentially dangerous.  The same applies to rear fog lights, so do check you have not left these, or the front ones, set to ‘on’ inadvertantly.

Brake lights too, make sure they are all working, and be aware that these are also intensive lights: they act as a warning to following drivers, and can help warn of your presence when waiting to turn right.  However, if you use them whilst stationary at red traffic lights, these are dazzling to the driver behind, especially as most cars now have a brake light strip above the rear window, just the right position to shine right in the eyes of the driver behind!  Caremotorists show consideration to other drivers, and this is one such example - please apply your handbrake when waiting at red lights, and release the footbrake.

Before setting off, especially first thing in the morning if your car has not been garaged, ensure all windows are clear: remove moisture which has misted over and never drive with just a ‘peep-hole’ through iced-up windscreen!  And don’t forget to clear side mirrors, lights and number plates too - easily forgotten in the morning rush unless you make this a habit.

In order to maintain a safe gap with the vehicle ahead, choose a stationary object on the side of the road, eg a traffic sign, and count 2 seconds from the moment the car ahead passes the object - saying the sentence above, at a steady pace, will take 2 seconds. If you pass the same object before you finish the sentence, you’re too close. And if someone is ‘tailgating’ you, increasing the gap ahead puts you in control by allowing you greater braking time should the need arise.

In order to see further ahead, and so plan your actions earlier, think of your car windscreen as “upside-down” traffic lights, so that the upper part of your windscreen (immediately below the view of the sky) is green, and is where you should be looking most of the time. Move your eyes from side to side, coming forward to “amber”, then into your rear and side mirrors, then back to “green”. Use the “red” area for slow speed, tight manoeuvring only. Train yourself to use the “green” area (most people use the “amber”) on bends and around roundabouts – you’ll be surprised how much more you’ll see!