Reckless driving costs us up to 1.3 Million lives globally per year. This is a ridiculously high number considering these drivers went through training, were tested, and seen to be fit as road users. They also know the lurking dangers and have lost their loved ones already.
Unfortunately, the introduction of tickets hasn’t changed people much. Even though they hate getting tickets, the urge to break rules often supersede their hate or fear for tickets. They still ignore speed limits, road signs, and road lights. This attitude has seen people drive on the wrong side of the road, jump lights, or overtake at sharp bends making road accidents almost like a norm. Here are some of the major causes of road accidents.
Major Causes of Road Accidents
1. Over speeding
race on the road and cause grisly accidents? The urge to move at high speeds especially on highways never dies despite numerous warnings from the government.
2. Driving under the influence
Driving under influence (DUI) is one of the major causes of road carnage. Study shows that up to 5,000 people lose their lives daily globally due to drivers driving under the influence of drugs. The most common cases being related to alcohol.
Impairments such as blurred vision, delayed reaction, and poor concentration renders you a dangerous driver. While under influence, it’s advisable to use an alternative means of transport or avoid traveling whenever possible. This includes prescription drugs too.
3. Distracted driving
A distracted driver is another threat to other road users. Short-span distractions such as picking a call, taking a selfie, reading a tweet, or tending to a baby can turn out to be a disaster. Some drivers, especially women spare a few activities such as make-up for the trip to work. It’s such forms of distractions that are to blame for a third of accidents in the past three years
4. Drowsy driving
As funny as it sounds, it’s not rare to find a driver dosing while driving. People tend to ignore the need to rest because they think it only affects them. But this is one of the major reasons why people are causing accidents.
In America alone, studies have shown that one-third of all adults rarely get the recommended 8hours of sleep. This is the same group of people that we find on your roads driving themselves. You can’t maintain sharp focus while fatigued.
5. Overtaking
It is never wrong to overtake. However, overtaking at sharp bends or corners could lead to a disaster. The hurry to get your kid to school, or even get to work on time, causes people to make rash decisions.
Underestimation of the speed of a forthcoming car, or the size of a long vehicle, and sometimes the assumption that the other driver will give way is what causes those cruel accidents. The temptation to overtake is understandable but doing it inaccurately can cost you your life.
With this knowledge, the question we are left with is what we can do to curb these carnages. What is the government doing to safeguard the lives of all road users?
To handle the issue of road carnage, the government has set harsh penalties for reckless driving such as driving under the influence, drowsy driving, and overtaking.
Despite our ignorance, the sectors involved have trained widely on-road use and road rules. They have also set structures to curb the road madness. Introduction of tickets was done do that careless driving can be penalized. The rest of the part is for road users to play. Keep yourself and your close family members in check and respect other road users while on the road.
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