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The Decade of Action For Road Safety
May the 11th 2011 saw the launch of a new initiative by the United Nations (UN) in combination with the World Health Organisation (WHO) known as the . This is an international movement to reduce the number of people who are killed on the roads. Let’s face it: we love driving, but it’s one of the riskiest things we’ll do, according to the statistics, and this isn’t just a problem for Australia. The UN wants organisations and governments around the world to work to make roads everywhere safer. The goal of this movement is to save 5 million lives (that’s more than the population of our neighbours across the Tasman, i.e. New Zealand) over this ten-year period.
What are some of the things that the Decade of Action For Road Safety are doing? The broad goals include developing better, safer roads; designing and manufacturing safer cars; what the UN call “enhancing the behaviour of road users”, otherwise known as driver education; and improving post-crash care so people have more chance of surviving a road crash. Road crashes go beyond just car crashes; it also involves bike accidents.
This decade has only just been officially launched, so at the moment, raising awareness is the name of the game. Events are being planned worldwide, with the first one being projection of the (which looks like one of those familiar yellow diamond road signs) onto international landmarks – including the Sydney Harbour Bridge. You can buy the tag to wear as a fashion statement (and as a way of funding research into this area), and we’re going to see it turning up all over the place.
This is all very big and very exciting, but what can the average Aussie motorist do to contribute to this global plan of action to reduce road deaths? Five million deaths prevented worldwide is a big target, but where it all comes down is to individual drivers. So what can you do?
- Be sensible. We’ve heard stories about people who buy a car with all the latest safety bits and pieces (e.g. ABS brakes, airbags, crumple zones, ESP) and then think that because they’ve got a safe car that is less likely to crash, they don’t have to wear their seatbelts. Bad idea.
- Have a look at your own driving. Have any bad habits crept into your driving style that are likely to contribute to a crash (e.g. cornering too fast or crossing the centre line to smooth a corner just like a racing driver)? You could consider signing up for a refresher defensive driving course or an advanced driving course to improve your skills in handling things like skids.
- Look at your transport options. We love our cars and you’d be hard pushed to do without one completely if you’re a typical Australian with a typical job, but most of us could probably find a few trips in our week that really could be walked or biked. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it’s motorised transport that causes most of the fatalities on the roads, so if we can reduce the number of cars on the roads, we can reduce the number of fatalities. Secondly, if drivers see bikes on the road more often, they’ll get used to sharing the road and adjusting to the needs of cyclists.
- Buy one of the yellow tags to help fund research into safer road design. These are available as badges, necklaces, mini-tags and reflective tags for cyclists and pedestrians.
- If you’re part of a non-profit organisation (e.g. a church or a school) then host your own event. Non-profit NGOs can use the official logo for free by signing up and letting the official organisation know more about your group and what you plan to do about road safety.
Find out more at the official website: .
Honda Joins Rolls-Royce… in the Air
Honda is set to join the likes of Rolls-Royce, Saab and BMW. You may be wondering what a typical middle-class family drive like Honda (which is not to run Honda down – they’re good cars that do the job they’re designed to do with flying colours, i.e. getting families from A to B in comfort and safety at an affordable price) is doing alongside luxurious European models. But we’re not talking about cars here: we’re talking about aeroplanes.
Yes, Honda is set to launch the Hondajet and has got a working prototype up into the air successfully. Tests are still being carried out, so it’ll be a wee while until we get Hondas above the roads as well as on them. (If you think it takes time to get a car from concept to the car sales yard, it’s nothing to the testing that aircraft go through). Honda isn’t alone in being a car manufacturer that has branched out beyond just four wheels.
BMW no longer makes aircraft but, like many European engineers during World War II, turned away from cars and motorbikes and went into aircraft instead to aid the war effort. This aviation legacy is retained in BMW’s logo, which is intended to represent the propeller of an aircraft.
Saab still makes aircraft – in fact, aircraft is where Saab started (SAAB stands for “Svenska Aeroplan Arktiebolag” or “Swedish Aeroplane Company Ltd”). Saab’s real success stories in the aviation world are the Viggen and the Gripen, which were fighter aircraft that were used until quite recently as the plane of choice by NATO and prized for their ability to take off and land in rough conditions. This explains why the top-notch Saab car models often have the tag “Gripen”, “Viggen” or “Aero”. And some of that fighter jet technology has been popped into some of the latest cars as a safety feature. Saab is quite a military organisations, and it also makes weaponry and defence systems. And don’t forget the trucks, now that Saab has merged with Scania.
You will probably find more Rolls-Royce engines in the air than on the roads. In fact, you’d be safe enough saying that Rolls-Royce is primarily a manufacturer of aircraft engines that does luxury cars on the side rather than the other way around, even though the man and woman on the street probably thinks of the posh car if you mention a Rolls.
It’s often quite interesting to think about the other things that car manufacturers go in for and the places you can find the badge on the front of your set of wheels. Here’s a sample:
- Honda: motorbikes, including the iconic Honda 50, power tools and lawnmowers, inflatable boats, outboard motors, solar cells, robots and mountain bikes
- BMW: motorbikes
- Toyota: sewing machines, robots
- Mitsubishi: aircraft (kamikaze fighter planes a specialty in WWII), air con systems for homes, lifts, electric bits and pieces including medical equipment and a whole lot more (the Mitsubishi group is massive and is one of the largest companies in Japan, which says something).
- Suzuki: wheelchairs, motorbikes, outboard motors. Suzuki is a very common Japanese surname, so Suzuki cars have nothing to do with the company that produces musical instruments or with the method of teaching small children the violin.
- Lamborghini: heating systems, air con systems, water filters, tractors and front-end loaders.
Dining and driving
For a lot of us, the desire to travel is stacked up heavily in our genes. Then there are those of us who would much rather stay at home. Some of us may be partial to eating rather well. And then there are those who are happy with cold chicken noodles and the odd flaccid carrot. So what happens for those people where much travel and eating heartily go hand in hand? First of all, count yourselves rather lucky and see yourself as one of a very special breed. The pleasure of both seeing the sights and eating out go together like a duck takes to water. So what are the favourite food outlets for the serious traveller? And what’s easy to eat while driving?
Googling for my answer found me arriving at inverts.com.au. I was very pleased to see that nearly 23% of voters were of the ‘Don’t be lazy’ category. These were the people that made their meals at home. How easy is that to do on a journey, though? Do many of you go to lengths to carry fresh ingredients on any trip of great length? Are you prepared to put some forethought into your meals and prepare your food before setting out? It makes a lot of sense, and definitely saves on cash, if you can take some sandwiches, fresh fruit, water and slices that you have prepared before setting out from home, the motel room or the tent. I guess those of us who have a campervan will carry all the ingredients to make a first-class meal at any time of the day. If you are travelling by car and are, perhaps, on your own, you can still purchase a lot of good food from a supermarket and store it in the boot – obviously the things that need to be kept cool can be placed in an eskie. Sure, preparing your own food means that you have to be a little more organised; however, you may well eat healthier and save yourself a few dollars.
Sandwiches and filled rolls are also convenient to eat while driving, as they are perfectly designed to fit in the hand. The same goes for many other home-made bits and pieces, as most of them stay together and don’t need tricky wrappers to be removed with one hand while at the wheel.
Pizza and Subway© were similarly the next favourite takeaway, mentioned. Subway is definitely one of the healthier takeaway options, and would have to rate highly on my favourites. The beauty of a takeaway is that they are so convenient while on the move. The problem is if we ate nothing but takeaways for each meal while taking in the sights, our girth measurement is going to enlarge itself rather quickly. If you like drive-through meals, though, you’ll have to look elsewhere, as pizza outlets and Subway can’t do drive-throughs. Those long submarine sandwiches can be tricky to eat at the wheel, but it is possible.
Indian and Chinese takeaways are the next favourite dishes. Very tasty! However, if you eat them in great quantities, you are going to be a rather fat little hobbit before too long! It can also be rather tricky to eat this sort of food inside your car. Chopsticks and gear sticks don’t mix very easily.
Then there is the rest of the takeaway variety. I’m sure you can fill in the popular contenders. For one of the more interesting dishes: I’ve heard that Adelaide does a great pie floater dish. This is where your favourite pie is served floating in pea soup and then is quickly sunk with lashings of tomato sauce poured on top. Put a few of the pie floaters away and you’ll be sinking a few ships! If you’re going to eat this in your car, stop first. Pea soup is not all that nice to clear off the upholstery. Plain pies are a bit easier, but beware of gravy welling out of the pie and getting all over the wheel and your clothes. Take small bites.
Fish and chips are easy enough to eat at the wheel – tear a hole in the newspaper wrapper (if your local chippie still serves them this way) and pull the chips out one by one. If the chips are too hot, then hold them to the air vents rather than out the window.
If cash isn’t a big deal, then a restaurant meal is definitely a great place to go for a classy meal, good food, and atmosphere. You have to incorporate a few of these meals on your travel, especially if romance is on your agenda. If you can afford it, one restaurant meal a day would sit nicely. Don’t forget the pubs. There are some great pubs tucked away that provide value for money meals, nice food and great company. Obviously, you can’t eat restaurant or pub meals behind the wheel, and remember to be sensible when it comes to drinking and driving.
Before You Hand Your Teenager the Car Keys
It’s a big moment in anybody’s life when they first get handed the keys to the family car. How well I remember my first drive in the family’s VW Beetle… It’s also a big moment for parents when they put their teenager in the driver’s seat of the car and let them head out onto the road for the first time.
While your teenager is on their L licence, everyone in the family knows their roles and responsibilities: your teenager isn’t allowed to drive unless there’s an experienced driver in the car with them (preferably in the front passenger seat) as they clock up the hours in their log book. The only debate that might crop up at this stage is who counts as an “experienced driver” – your teenager might try to convince you that their best friend’s big brother counts. But it’s when your teenager gets their P licence and can drive solo that you need to set some family rules.
First of all, congratulate your teenager on passing. It’s big achievement for them, and it’s important to focus on this positive before getting into the more controversial stuff and the rules. They’re another step closer to being a fully independent adult! (Try to forget that time when they were four and rode their bike straight into the only tree in an open space).
Many of the rules and restrictions are already spelled out by law. These will govern the sort of car your teen is allowed to drive with P-plates (if you’re not sure whether your teenager is allowed to drive your family Holden Commodore, to take one example, have a look at this VicRoads database. It saves a lot of arguments). The peer passenger restriction also makes it strictly illegal for your teen to cart their friends around unless someone over the age of 23 is in the car. (Note: the rules in this paragraph apply to the state of Victoria; other states have other rules, but they’re all pretty similar). The important thing for parents here is to be sticklers and enforce the laws of the land strictly.
And you’ve got to set some family restrictions. Being able to drive solo is a huge responsibility and gives a larger measure of freedom to your teenager. It’s highly likely that your teenager is driving the family car rather than their own, and as your name is on the ownership papers and you have to pay for things like the insurance and all the rest of it, you get a say in how the car gets used. The exact rules that your family sets will be unique to your situation, but it is probably a good idea to discuss the following points and make the rules clear:
Who pays for the petrol? And who is responsible for getting the car topped up? Does your teen have to do any of the car maintenance that you can do at home (rotating tyres, checking and topping up the oil, etc.)? Who pays for any repairs if your teen has a ding?
What responsibilities come with the privilege of using the family car? For example, if your teen is allowed to drive to school, do they have to take younger siblings? (If the answer to this is yes, it might pay to have a talk with the younger sibling about acceptable behaviour when Big Brother/Sister is behind the wheel).
Will the car keys and the ability to drive be granted automatically to your teenager? Or do parents have the ability to withhold driving privileges if, for example, your teenager has been behaving badly at school?
What will be the consequences of violating the legal rules (whether or not your teenager gets caught by the cops)? What about violating family rules?
Don’t make this conversation too heavy. Remember to begin and end this conversation with congratulations and a positive attitude.
Level 2, 9 Help Street