Service your car — a must
Replace worn tyres, replace constant velocity (CV) joints, suspension bushes, tie rods, rack ends. Go for alignment and camber adjustment.
To avoid common highway breakdowns, check your battery, check your belts, check your lights, check your indicators.
Most of all: check your spare tyre.
Do not overload your car
Every adult you carry must be seated and belted.
No standing children — especially those that like to stand children behind the dashboard — he/she will be severely injured even in a 30kph accident.
Do not speed/ compete with other drivers
Give way even when you have right of way.
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| Driving Safely is a necessity |
Don’t overtake in a herd — a common habit.
That’s because you can’t see the front of a long line, you swing to the right when everyone else does so — you will find yourself under the axle of a 22-wheeler trying to get back in lane.
Don’t overtake on blind corners, in heavy rain or whenever you don’t have a clear view of at least 500 metres ahead of the front vehicle.
If your vehicle breaks down . . .
Don’t have your family stand next to the vehicle while you repair with half your butt on the highway. If it is a catastrophic failure and you can’t move, have them stand 20 metres away into the bush.
-Do not place your triangle two metres behind your car; place them at a minimum of 70 metres from where your car has stalled.
- Do not place a tyre on the road, a sleeping driver will hit it, his front wheels lose contact with the road and he runs into you . . .
For rough roads
For those going to extreme ends of the country, purchase simple puncture repair kits and mini compressors (a small investment of less than 5k) to avoid spending hours in dangerous and unfamiliar places.
By Fungai Muderere
