I’m back out on the road at this time of the year, both figuratively and literally, in that I’m on tour and driving around the country.
One of my first gigs was in the Ardhowen Theatre in Enniskillen, always a challenging journey as the motorway disappears before turning into the A4, a single lane road with limited passing points. Traffic invariably backs up behind slower moving vehicles and I’ve witnessed some heart-stopping overtaking manoeuvres by impatient drivers.
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This year I travelled on the same night as Storm Gerrit hit with strong winds and driving rain. The severe weather didn’t deter a continual stream of speeders passing my car at well over the speed limit.
I couldn’t help noticing many were displaying ‘R’ plates indicating they were younger drivers. Not that I’m suggesting only young drivers speed, but what I do believe is that especially young men often exhibit extreme risk-taking behaviour, including speeding.
I’ve personal experience of the tragedy which can result after school friends offered me a lift as a teenager. Four fellow pupils said they were going for ‘a spin’ and asked if I wanted to join them. Luckily, I couldn’t as I was working later that day.
Rather than a right, driving should be seen as a privilege and sensible measures taken to enforce road safety. New drivers could have speed limiters fitted on their vehicles… Those of us over 60 should face a mandatory retest of our continued ability to drive
The next morning, I got a call from another friend asking if I’d heard the news - the driver had lost control and careered into a field, flipping the car, resulting in one of the guys sitting in the back being thrown out and killed.
All this came to mind with the release of the PSNI road fatality figures for 2023. A sickening 71 deaths were recorded - the highest number since 2015. A further 679 people were also seriously injured on our roads between January 1 and October 31 2023.
To put that number of deaths into perspective, more people died on our roads last year than during 13 years of the Troubles. Yet having fought for peace, we now seem impotent to deal with this annual carnage.
With the right political will, there is a lot which could be done. Many of our main roads are criminally dangerous; the A1 jumps to mind as an example. We should upgrade where possible and augment this with other traffic-calming measures. With nine out of 10 fatal accidents attributed to human error that statistic could be reduced with a more robust approach to bad driving.
As an occasional cyclist I’ve often been forced into evasive action by drivers inconsiderately throwing open car doors without checking. A simple but effective cure for this would be if drivers adopted what is called the ‘Dutch reach’.
This lifesaving manoeuvre involves opening car doors from the inside using your far rather than close hand, forcing your body to swivel round, allowing you to look behind and check for any oncoming cyclists.
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Rather than a right, driving should be seen as a privilege and sensible measures taken to enforce road safety. New drivers could have speed limiters fitted on their vehicles for the first three years. This would go some way to offset the dangers of overconfidence coupled with inexperience.
Those of us over 60 should face a mandatory retest of our continued ability to drive; this could involve a sight, hearing and reaction test every few years.
The criminally-selfish minority who continue to drink or drug drive should, if convicted, be stripped of their licence for life. And if their actions have resulted in someone being injured, that should no longer be viewed as a traffic violation but as a form of GBH, with the associated penalties imposed.
Those who view these suggestions as draconian would do well to visit the 71 families missing a loved this year. Unlike drunk/drug drivers whose licences are returned in a few years, there will be no return of their beloved.
Writing this has caused me to reflect on where I can improve my own driving. While not a fast driver I can be easily angered by the actions of fellow drivers. I’ve made it my new year resolution to be more Zen-like on the road…
No matter if you’re a driver, pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist, we all share the same roads and it is high time we did so safely.
Hopefully reading this will be a reminder to slow down and pay attention whilst driving in 2024. Remember the life you save could very well be your own… or, more importantly, mine.
