Blind spot…column on road safety
Blind spot is a term that refers to an area that we cannot see, area blocked from our vision when we drive; management of blind spot is crucial to safe driving and crash avoidance. It is in this context that we shall be discussing, highlighting and projecting road safety best practices in the view to reduce injury and saving lives on our road.
Blind spot comes with vehicle design; door post, window frame, head restraints, pillar bar and so on constitute blind spot in our vehicles but majority of us have introduced more blind spot situation into our vehicle not knowing the consequence of our actions; we display balls, helmet, children toys, books, pile up items in the car, overload, allow children to stand while we drive and lots more make it difficult for us to have a good vision of our environment that is required for safe motoring. Very common today is the use of mobile phone; it constitutes blind spot as well!
Apart from vehicle design and motorist attitude, the architecture of the environment obstruct our vision when we drive; approaching intersections, T-junction, bends, driving beside a long truck, using a roundabout and some other driving situation have blind spot inherent in them.
We can see blind spot captured in the elementary causes of road traffic crash; human, mechanical (design) and environment. Blind spot column would be exploring how we can crash proof ourselves, take proper defensive measures as we drive, reinforce our vehicles and most importantly be cautious and courteous on the road.
Tips…
- Avoid displaying items at the back of your vehicle
- Don’t overload your vehicle
- Proper mirror setting would reduce blind spot
- Look over your shoulder when changing lanes or making turns
- Road scanning, turning your head reduces blind spot
- Don’t drive too fast than you can see
