E-book E-BOOK 24 DEADLY MISTAKES TO AVOID ON THE ROAD As a Pedestrian, Passenger, Rider or Driver. Written By ALEX MUNENE Dear Reader, Congratulations for registering to receive this e-book! I trust that the few minutes you will spend will a valuable investment of your time. More importantly, I hope that it will improve safety on the road. For you, your loved ones, your colleagues, friends, and associates. I may not know your particular situation but let me ask you some questions. Have you ever been involved in a near-miss or actual accident on the road? Have you ever witnessed a ghastly road accident that you still can’t forget about? Are you afraid of injury or death while on the road, for yourself or your loved ones? How recently have you contributed to a funeral fundraiser or attended a funeral after losing someone you knew through a road accident? Have you had financial loss due to road accidents, like the loss of your personal effects, business, medical bills & vehicle damage or write-off? Are you sick and tired of traffic police corruption & negligence making our roads more dangerous? Do you feel so angry or helpless about the poor driving standards and reckless driving you see among many motorcycles and public transport vehicles? Do you manage a vehicle fleet and feel tired of handling accident claims, vehicle repairs, and downtime caused by workers or employees? Have you been worried that your son, daughter, sister, brother, cousin, nephew, or niece got a driving license but barely has the skill to drive safely on the road? If the answer is yes to any of the above, welcome to our mission. Our big hairy audacious goal is to change the road safety challenge in Africa to a success story by training over 250,000 road users including school students, pedestrians, riders, and drivers. Thank you for believing in our vision and giving us a chance. Welcome aboard this quest to save lives, time & money for Africa! Let’s do this. Alex Munene The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 01 REAL LIFE EXAMPLES Firstly let us look at decisions that road users have to make every day. Firstly let us look at decisions that road users have to make every day. *It is evening in the city center and raining heavily. Traffic is a mess and public transport vehicles are hard to come. Jane is trying to get home because it is getting very late. Finally a public transport van appears. It is a bit rickety and the headlights look dim. But Jane needs to get home to her family so she jumps in quickly before it is full of other passengers. *Max loves riding his bicycle on weekends. His job as an engineer doesn't leave much time for this hobby. But today is a free day so he puts on his black cycling shorts, grey T-shirt and blue helmets. He hits the road hoping to cover at least 25 kilometers that day. *Jim sells solar installations around the country. He has pick up that carries some of his merchandise which he displays to his customers. Often he also carries other goods on his way back since he knows he can sell them in the city for a good price. Mainly fruits and foodstuff. One day while upcountry he finds potatoes going at half the price in the city . He makes some quick calculations and decides to take several sacks. He may not remember the last time he checked his tyre pressure but the tyres look okay. *Christine works for a marketing agency. She is always in the middle of busy work projects. Developing and implementing adverts and promotions for her clients. This involves many meetings and phone calls. Sometimes the phone calls find her on the road as she is moving from site to site. She feels this is not a problem, as she has a hands free phone kit in her car. She will have phone calls when driving. *Abdi drives imported vehicles from the port city to the capital city for used car dealers. He is paid per trip and has been trying to do many trips this month because of several outstanding bills. His child's school fees is overdue and his sick mother has medical bills. During the day he will drive one vehicle for the long trip from the port to the capital city. In the evening he then takes a bus or train back to the port, sleeping during the night trip as he has another vehicle delivery tomorrow. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 02 *Gilbert is a school bus driver. One day he is dropping a girl at a residential estate. The estate is normally quiet at this hour as the children are at school and adults are at work. He stops next to her home and she alights and enters the gate as usual. As the girl is alighting, Gilbert does not notice a small boy crawl out of the opposite gate following a ball that has rolled just behind the bus. The bus slowly starts to reverse *Mary works in a factory located at the industrial part of the city. To survive on her low income, she treks every day from her rented house to the factory and back. The footpaths are not well designed, pedestrian crossings don’t exist and the only footbridge on her route is filled with hawkers during the day and muggers at night. She has no choice but to walk right on the edge of the road. Jostling for space with vehicles, motorcycles, handcarts, and other pedestrians. *David is a motorcycle delivery rider. He has many people calling him to deliver documents and items all around town. Business is great and he is always hopping from delivery point to another. In fact he will usually attach his phone to his helmet so that he will not miss a client calling. *Two vehicles bump into each other in the early morning rush hour traffic. The drivers can't seem to agree how this will be resolved and decided to wait for the traffic police to show up. The two vehicles have blocked part of the road into the city. Other vehicles rushing by having to maneuver around the two stationary vehicles on the road. *It is Christmas week and many travelers are trying to get to their families, upcountry homes or holiday destinations to enjoy the festivities. Fares have gone up dramatically. Some private vehicle are stopping at bus stops and asking for any passengers heading in the same direction. Many people will jump in since a private vehicle will charge less than high fare being charged by the public transport vehicles. Many times such examples will end up without a major incident or accident. But as a road user, you only need to be wrong ONCE - and it is game over. Each of the many decisions you make in a day could be the last one you ever make. That is not to scare you, but sadly it is something we have seen too often. That is the reason for this book. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 03 The Big Problem Review these disturbing statistics from road accidents: 90% of road accidents are caused by human error. 10% of accidents are caused by external conditions. 43% of drivers overestimate their driving skills or lack of them. 1.3 million people are killed annually in road crashes worldwide, that is at least 3,561 people dying daily, or 5 people every 2 minutes. More than 90% of road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Road traffic injury death rates are highest in the African region. In highincome countries, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be involved in road traffic crashes. Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children and young adults aged 5-29 years. 73% of all road traffic deaths occur among young males aged below 25 years who are almost 3 times as likely to be killed in a road traffic crash as young females. Every year 20 - 50 million more people suffer non-fatal injuries. The annual losses from road traffic crashes is about 3% of global GDP. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 04 State of Road Safety The UN declared 2011 – 2020 as Most the Decade of Action for Road experiences are underwhelming to Safety with the goal of saving five say the least. In less than 30 short (5) million lives. This global plan lessons both theory and practice, for for you complete the course and are on governments, civil society and the your way to get a driving license. private sector to work together to The driving practice sessions are improve management; often less than 10 minutes and the upgrade the safety of roads and test itself has a driving distance of vehicles, drivers, less than 5kms. And just like that passengers and pedestrians on the license is in your hands. The safe behaviour. It focuses on the license to make life and death big decisions affecting yourself and provides a framework road and risks educate including speeding, drinking and driving, inattention standard driving school others. while using mobile devices, and failing to use seat-belts, helmets In our driving schools, barely any and child restraints. The global student fails the driving test. How is plan also encompasses emergency that even possible? This is a big, care and treatment for victims, as big problem. Many drivers admit well crash that they barely knew how to drive investigations to prevent further properly when they acquired a deaths and injuries. Road crashes driving are expected to be the 5th leading approach of most driving schools cause of death worldwide by 2030, makes them collude with testing and the UN strategy is to reduce officers to ensure that no student this grim toll by 50% will Africa has the youngest population assessment in the world, with millions of youth system is pushing out unqualified joining the job market annually. A drivers onto our roads by the driving license is one of the key dozens! as thorough license. fail The commercial regardless result. of This their broken documents they will need in order to get job opportunities. “No amount of road safety measures or engineering interventions is enough to prevent accidents along our roads if our drivers are not fully equipped with the knowledge on road safety” Quote at a Global Road Safety convention The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 05 Most developed countries have thorough driver training and strict enforcement of standards on the road. However, driving in Africa is generally assumed to be a right and not a privilege. There is little regard for traffic rules, especially by public transport vehicles. When you combine the factors of a growing human population and a growing vehicle population, the situation is bound to get worse before it gets better. This is the reason for the high number of fatality rates in Africa, despite having the least number of vehicles compared to other continents. In most African countries the traffic police top all corruption index reports and bribery for traffic offenses is considered normal. Advanced driving institutions are too costly and are accessible mainly to people in multinational and non-governmental organizations. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 06 Four Main Road Users Passengers Normally thought to have only a small role in make a big difference to drivers. Apart from maneuvers like reversing or fixing the vehicle, effect on the driver. This reduces the unsafe engage in. road safety, their presence and actions assisting the driver to carry out some their active presence has a monitoring actions or risks that the driver might Pedestrians These are people who use the road on foot including special vulnerable groups like children, elderly people, people with disabilities & people who are physically or mentally unwell. They have the highest fatality rates on the road due to the fact that they have minimal protection in the event of an accident. They also rarely have opportunities for formal training on road safety or traffic rules despite being an active road user group. Riders This includes both motorcycle and bicycle riders. This category comprises the secondhighest fatality rates on the road. Much as formal training is required of them, there is almost zero compliance hence most riders just get on a motorcycle or bicycle and start riding with barely any Highway code training. Drivers These are actually the biggest cause of death to other road user categories. The risk for drivers to kill other people on the road is higher than for drivers themselves to get killed. Normally drivers have access to better training opportunities and better protection systems than all other road user categories. Considering the specific risks concerning each of the above road user categories, we will share the top 6 mistakes that each of them need to avoid to stay safe. These measures are not exhaustive but they address the leading cause of injury and death for each segment. They are quite easy to do but require discipline to do consistently as accidents happen when least expected. One mistake or wrong decision is all it takes to end up in a life-and-death situation. Many people didn’t get a second chance at life when the situation arose, that doesn’t have to be you. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 07 The Science Allow us to briefly look at some scientific jargon before we proceed. One of the biggest challenge to improving safety on the road is that road users don’t understand the science behind it. The engineering science of how different types of roads are made. The mechanical science of how different types of motor vehicles are made. The physical science of how things move and stop. By far the most complex is the behavioral science of how different human beings behave on the road. Let us briefly dive into some scientific terms for clarity; Roadway safety – the portion of overall highway safety that is determined by the road’s physical features such as road design, signs, markings, operating conditions, roadside objects (such as utility poles, signs, trees, guardrails), bridges and intersections. Risk homeostasis – the tendency to adjust our behavior to reach a level of risk we are comfortable with. Highways which are engineered for maximum safety are prone to this. Drivers will go slower on small roads or busy areas but feel okay speeding on a good tarmac road with multiple lanes. Also the more accustomed you are to a road, the more difficult it is for you to imagine disaster on it. Dunning Kruger effect – a cognitive bias in which people with low ability at a task overestimate their ability. For example, many road users think that because they have never been injured or died while using the road, they must be very safe road users. They are not aware of the many times where it was the actions of others that saved them. Lake Wobegon effect – the human tendency to overestimate one’s achievements in relation to others. For example, 93% of drivers believe they are better than the average driver. This is not statistically possible, therefore 43% of them are actually overestimating their driving skills. Inattention blindness - the cognitive distraction of looking but not seeing. There are many things that can distract the brain like noise, activities, emotional, psychological or physiological state. The use of mobile phones even on hand free is the most common and dangerous distraction. And with over 15 billion mobile devices globally for a population of 7 billion, the danger is not going away soon. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 08 Ambient speed – speed of a road user in relation to the speed of other road users around them. Vehicles moving in the same direction should have relatively similar speed to reduce risk of accidents. When some vehicles have a large speed gap in relation to others, then the number of maneuvers by the faster vehicles rises. It is said the slower drivers are the killers, the faster drivers are the dead ones. Pareto principle – the disproportionate relationship between cause and effect, where 80% of any outcome is caused by only 20% of factors. For example there are many causes of road accidents, but speeding is the culprit for majority of them. By speeding we don’t mean going above a specific speed, but going above the safe speed required for specific road conditions. One can be speeding at 60 kph if the conditions require a 30 kph speed, and another might not be speeding at 110 kph if conditions are safe up to 120 kph. Now let us dive into reviewing the 24 mistakes that cost the lives of so many passengers, pedestrians, riders and drivers. The interesting thing is that most of these are decisions that need to be made before one gets on the road, not when they are on it. A casual approach to using the road is most dangerous thing that road users need to watch out for. Avoid it and anyone who has such an attitude, you have only one life to live. Imagine all the agony that follows a single road fatality. Broken and grieving families. Careers and education cut short. Dreams and hopes shattered. Funeral plans and writing eulogies. Insurance claims and vehicles written off. Resources and productivity lost. Life experiences and lessons gone forever. Inheritance squabbles and legal cases. Widowers, widows and orphans. So much heartache and headache, all because of the decisions that were made on the road that day, one or a few of them was wrong. Here are the top mistakes to avoid. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 09 6 Key Mistakes by Passengers 1. Not Doing Your Research – the important decision as a passenger is firstly, Why do I need to go where I am going? Which means and routes are available? How long will it take? How much will it cost? What are the risks? The answers to these questions will determine if you will take a motorbike taxi, a public bus, a public van, a taxi app, carpooling or hiking a lift. The means with less risk or more convenience normally cost more, so make sure the exchange is not with your own life. 2. Not Assessing The Vehicle & Driver – too often we jump on the available means without checking the vehicle or driver. Does the vehicle look and sound okay? Does the driver look tired, agitated, troubled or distracted? Say hi to them while making eye contact, if possible casually find out how they are doing. 3. Not Speaking Up – studies have shown that driving behavior is improved when there is a passenger in the car. However, when the passenger is passive like in many public transport vehicles, their presence may not counter the aggressive culture of the driver. Politely but firmly speaking up about the good driving style you want can save your life. Better to alight from the vehicle and be late than to be dead before your time. 4. Not Belting Up – often passengers don’t fasten their safety belts. An unbelted passenger around you is also a dangerous loose cannon. In the event of a crash, any loose object inside the vehicle will still be moving at the previous vehicle's speed. The unbelted passenger behind you becomes a flying missile that could knock you out and kill you, even if you are belted. 5. Not Putting On Helmet – most motorcycle taxis don’t carry a second helmet for passengers. And even when available most passengers don’t put it on because of risk of skin disease or body parasites like lice. Despite these concerns, in the event of a crash, a helmet prevents your head from hitting the road like a watermelon. 6. Not Seating Children Correctly – when traveling children are often left unsecured so that they can play around. Sadly in the event of a crash, they might not survive the impact of being thrown off. Children should first start with an infant seat, then a child seat, then a booster seat until when they can use the normal adult seat comfortably. Some cars have Isofix points between the rear vehicle seats, these lock the child seat directly without the need to use the seat belt. Small children should never be in the front row as the front airbag can kill instead of protecting them. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 10 6 Key Mistakes by Pedestrians 1. Not Checking Available Routes - the important decision as a pedestrian is firstly, Why do I need to go where I am going? Which pedestrian routes are available? How long will it take? What are the risks or hazards along the route? Are there some black spots along the route, places where pedestrian accidents normally tend to happen? Have there been injuries or deaths on that route recently or long ago? The answers to these questions will determine your preparation and mindset. 2. Not Being Seen – the biggest risk for pedestrians is from drivers, some of whom could be having inattention blindness (looking but not seeing) or night blindness. There is a lethal combination where many drivers disregard pedestrians, who are also assuming the driver is seeing them. Pedestrians need to have visible clothing and on busy roads they need a reflective vest, it can save their life. 3. Not Walking Opposite Traffic – since the biggest risk for pedestrians is from drivers, a pedestrian needs to walk on the side of the road opposite the vehicle traffic. This helps them see vehicle movements clearly and take corrective action in case of an emergency like a vehicle that is speeding, losing control, drifting, overlapping, evading an obstruction etc 4. Not Looking For Driver’s Eye Contact – many pedestrians often assume the driver is seeing them, remember the driver could be having inattention blindness or night blindness. To avoid this deadly assumption, the pedestrian should check to see if the driver is looking at them directly and if he responds to hand signals by flashing the vehicle lights, hooting, nodding or waving. 5. Not Being Patient – often pedestrians get impatient when waiting to cross a busy road. Sometimes they try running across the speeding vehicles or zigzagging through traffic lanes. This is very dangerous as the drivers might not be seeing you or could have very little time to react. Pedestrians must also never cross the road directly at junctions, roundabouts, u-turns, acceleration or deceleration lanes where drivers are engrossed with many other calculations. 6. Not Avoiding Distractions – considering that pedestrians are the most vulnerable road users, they also need to be the most alert on the road. This means they should avoid distractions like using mobile phones, listening to music, day dreaming or meditating. Their shoes should also be very comfortable so that the mind and body are at ease. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 11 6 Key Mistakes by Riders 1. Not Being Seen – the biggest risk for riders is from drivers, some of whom could be having inattention blindness or night blindness. Many drivers disregard riders as if they don’t have full right to be on the road. Riders must have bright reflective clothing and small front and rear visibility lights to enhance their safety. If the rider cannot be seen clearly from far by other road users, their life is already in danger. 2. Not Being Heard – sometimes the rider will be coming from behind or the side of the road where they are not in the line of sight of other road users. At this point being seen is of little help, it is more important to be heard. A good horn is vitally important for the rider to alert others of his or her presence in the midst of all other traffic noise & activity. Especially if others are about to take action that could endanger the rider. 3. Not Using Hand Signals – riders are required to use hand signals to complement the direction indicators. Hand signals can be seen and understood quickly even from a long distance, unlike indicators which could be faulty, not visible from far or not available for bicycles. Hand signals, therefore, reduce the chance of drivers making a wrong move and endangering the rider. 4. Not Looking For Driver’s Eye Contact – many riders often assume the driver is seeing them, remember the driver could be having inattention blindness or night blindness. To avoid this fatal assumption, the rider should check to see if the driver is looking at them directly and if he responds to hand signals by flashing his lights, hooting, nodding, or waving. 5. Overtaking on the Wrong Side weaving in and out of traffic lanes. overtaking a vehicle on the left yet unnecessary risk must be avoided for – motorcycle and bicycle riders are known for However many have been injured or killed when the driver did not expect them to be there. This riders to stay safe on the road. 6. Not Maintaining a Crash Avoidance Space – As mentioned before, motorcycle and bicycle riders are known for weaving through traffic lanes. In fast-moving traffic or on a two-way road, the space between the vehicle lanes becomes dangerously small. In the event of an accident or incident, the rider falls right onto the path of a vehicle. Similarly, when overtaking other vehicles, riders should avoid squeezing into very small gaps because, in the vent of a slip-up, there will be no space for a vehicle to avoid hitting or running over them. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 12 6 Key Mistakes by Drivers 1. Not Doing Your Research – the important decision as a driver is firstly, Why do I need to go where I am going? Which routes are available? How long will it take? How much will it cost? What are the traffic patterns? What are the risks or hazards along the route? Are there some black spots along the route, places where accidents normally tend to happen? Have there been injuries or deaths on that route recently or long ago? A casual approach to driving can have serious consequences. 2. Not Knowing Their Vehicle – it is shocking how many drivers have a vehicle which they don’t know all functions. Would a pilot fly an aircraft if there was a single button that he didn't know what it means? Many drivers are ignorant about some vehicle functionality and this can prove deadly in the wrong situation. The dashboard panel also communicates the vehicle condition to the driver. Green lights mean okay condition, orange means be aware & red means don’t move the car. 3. Not Checking Their Own Condition – the driver should be able to review their own physical, physiological, psychological & emotional state. Are they healthy, fit & wellrested? Are they in pain, discomfort, or hunger? What are their attitude and character traits? Are they sad, happy, angry, or nervous? There are hundreds of factors to consider, any of them affecting your driving could be the deadly one. 4. Not Being Seen – just like every other road user, the driver needs to ensure that their vehicle is clearly visible from a distance. Studies show that vehicles with daytime or parking lights on all the time have fewer accidents than those without. Some countries have even made daytime lights mandatory because increased vehicle visibility greatly reduces the danger of accidents to drivers and other road users as well. 5. Not Checking Tyres & Pressure – many drivers hardly check their tyre condition until when they have a visible puncture. Do you know that tyres have an expiry date? Do you know that a vehicle can be overloaded not just by having an excess load but also by having less tyre pressure? An overloaded vehicle is harder to steer and has a longer stopping distance. Not to mention the grave danger of a tyre blowout at high speed. 6. Not Managing Speed – the problem with speeding is the stopping distance it takes to bring a moving car to a complete stop. This includes the time it takes the driver to react to the hazard and the time it takes for the brakes to stop the car. The driver should maintain an ambient speed gap to the vehicle in front that will cover the stopping distance and avoid potential accidents. The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 13 Way Forward SO, let me ask you some questions; Do you drive often to make a living? Do you regularly use personal or public vehicles to go to school, work or other personal activities? Do you know that one single road accident can change your life and those around you forever? How much is your life worth? Do you know that for less than the cost of getting a driving license, you can access training that can save your life and others on the road? This is what the Defensive Driving E-Course by Advanced Mobility is all about. This course is for drivers, riders, pedestrians, and passengers. If you fall into any of these categories and you are above 18 years of age, you should take this course. However, only licensed drivers will be allowed to drive during the practical session. Start learning immediately at your convenience, get lifetime access to the course and book for the practice when you are ready. Click here! The road is a public stage on which the national values and standards are on display for everyone to see. How can we expect merit and fairness to prevail in our family, community and national institutions – when our public roads are the grand stage for recklessness, indiscipline and corruption? Is it a wonder that our youth are growing up to view the world through these dirty lenses? IMAGINE a world where all road users and relevant authorities uphold traffic rules for the common good. Imagine a world where national values are upheld publicly for children and visitors to see. Imagine a world where everyone is mindful about taking personal responsibility. This kind of world is not just in our dreams, it is possible to start working to change the culture in the main public theatre of everyone’s life – the road. What kind of world do you want to build in Africa? What kind of world do you want your children to grow up in? The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 14 Advanced Mobility The Advanced Mobility Centre is a training center that delivers high-impact learning for drivers & all road users by utilizing modern technology, accelerated learning techniques, and advanced practice sessions. Learners gain high skill levels in driving & decision making. We use the aviation model of training where learners systematically grow from theory learning, simulator practice to vehicle practice sessions. Our big hairy audacious goal is to train 250,000 road users in Africa in the next 15 years including pedestrians, passengers, riders, and drivers. Our chosen focus from the UN Sustainable Development Goals is goal no. 3 on Good Health & Wellbeing, and goal no. 13 on Climate Action. Through these, we aim to impact the following target groups. Our first target are primary & secondary school students, this is the future generation that can change the national direction on a large scale if they get the right skills early enough. They have receptive minds and can influence each other positively. The second target are pedestrians as they have low accident survival rates and comprise the highest number of fatalities. They are also an ignored segment as pedestrians have no formal road safety training opportunities. The third group we are focusing on are regular or full-time drivers. These have the longest driving times as they drive for commercial reasons. They have a high accident probability due to their demanding work, long hours & related lifestyles. We are innovative and professional. We are digital and visionary. We care about the future of Africa. AdvMobilityAF AdvMobilityAF Advanced Mobility Africa Advanced Mobility Africa advancedmobility.co.ke | admin@advancedmobility.co.ke The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 15 AUTHOR’S BIO Alex Munene is the founder of the Advanced Mobility Centre based in Nairobi. A certified professional trainer and licensed driving instructor with experience in defensive and offroad driver training. He has 17 years of experience in fleet management, vehicle leasing and driver training. This includes 15 years of experience working at Toyota where the major role was managing the sales and aftersales of over 6,000 vehicles. He has also managed the after-sales support for major fleet accounts like Safaricom, EABL, KCB & the National Police Service. His passion for transformational learning led to creating this e-book for you. Not only that but also some road user training courses like Defensive driving, 4X4 driving and Eco driving with some of the best advanced driving trainers in the region. The courses all provide additional levels of competency to all road users especially those with a driving license. The practical driving sessions are challenging enough to stretch the experienced driver yet simple enough to cater for the novice driver. We are able to provide tailored training courses that suit individuals or organization by focusing on their specific needs and situation. Our range of training solutions are playing a crucial part to manage risk for many individuals, households & organizations with one constant conclusion – they work! The Advanced Mobility Centre PAGE 16