Malcolm Stephenson DSA ADI

The Key to Tragedy

A young boy was recently ‘strangled’ to death by
the electric window of his mother’s car.
The car was parked outside the family home
at the time and the boy was playing alone in
the vehicle.
What went wrong?

If the news reports are correct, the car had
been left with the engine running, allowing the
windows to be operated by the child, who had
the tragic misfortune to trap his neck in the process.

Had the handbrake been released and the car placed
in gear, we could have been talking about injury
or death to others as well.

In this frantic world of ours, it seems increasingly
common to forget that cars are potentially lethal
weapons that need to be treated with due care and
respect at all times – even when they are stationary.
The law alone cannot protect us!
Consider Defensive Parking!

Understanding and common sense is also called for.

Total Loss:

• It is illegal for a driver to leave a engine running
  and the vehicle unattended.

• Keys left in the ignition, is potentially criminal.

• Consider Criminal Negligence! 
  Could You Live With It?

The motto must surely be:

“You have a key Reasonability!”

Malcolm Stephenson
07968 487 897 UK Mobile

The RAC’s influential Report on Motoring 2007, Driving Safely?
is described as the most comprehensive study of its kind.
Here are some key findings:

MOTORING AND THE ENVIRONMENT:

The study found that although support and understanding
of the “green agenda” is growing among motorists this is
not yet translated into action.

Just 37% of motorists consider CO2 emissions when buying
a new car and 45% say they will only take account of
environmental issues once they see people doing the same.

A total of 66% said they would buy a more environmentally
friendly car if tax incentives were better.

MOTORING REVENUES:

Motorists were found to be generally skeptical about the
government’s use of motoring revenues.

Almost one in three believe that most driving offences
are there to generate money for the Treasury, rather than
to improve safety.

Malcolm Stephenson: From A19Fleet Driving Road Safety Training
malcolm@a19fleet.co.uk

SEASONAL TIP 2007

Because of the unseasonably mild temperatures it is easy to forget that winter is around the corner.
In fact we often get a sprinkling of snow in November out of the blue.

It is perhaps because we in the UK are not geared up for snow that it always seems to catch us out.

Respect the weather: if snow is forecast, before you set off, ask yourself if your journey is really necessary.

If it is, ensure that you have plenty of fuel, and if you can, put a shovel and some matting in the boot.
You may not need them, but together with a flask of whatever hot drinks and a warm -high- viz coat,
they can make all the difference if you do get stuck.

A mobile phone and membership of a breakdown service are both godsends in bad weather!
If your journey has been delayed due to the snow, do not try to make up time by driving faster; find somewhere safe to pull over, ring ahead and then concentrate on driving safely.

Except in extreme cases, motorways are kept free of snow and ice by gritter lorries.

Stay in as high a gear as possible as it will reduce the chances of spinning wheels leading to loss of traction.

As a general rule, drop your speed and allow a greater stopping distance 

A19Fleet.co.uk