The SAS Survival Driver’s Handbook. John Wiseman
DANGER! Airbags contain an explosive charge which could cause injury if tampered with. In normal use, no maintenance is required. If the warning light on the dashboard illuminates, take the car to a garage or dealer. Never try to remove an airbag yourself.
Once an airbag has inflated in an accident it cannot be used a second time. Take the car to your garage or dealer and have the airbag replaced.
Head restraints are designed not to provide comfort but to prevent whiplash. They will also protect your head from being hit by back-seat passengers in a frontal collision.
To be effective, the head restraint must be strong, stable, and positioned correctly. One that is too low can do more harm than having no head restraint at all. Adjustable restraints are preferable to fixed ones, particularly for those who are above average height. If you share the driving with someone else, make sure you check the position of the head restraint every time you get in the car.
If a glance in the mirror tells you that you are about to be hit from behind:
• Remain facing forward. Resist the impulse to turn around because having your head and spine at an angle increases the risk of whiplash injuries.
• Press your back against the seat and your head against the restraint.
The padded section should be above the tops of your ears. The seat back should be upright to minimize the distance between your head and the restraint.
Side-impact bars are installed in the door panels of the vehicle to prevent the door being pushed into the passenger compartment in a side-on collision.
There’s some debate amongst safety experts as to how much protection these bars offer. If the oncoming vehicle strikes you only a glancing blow the damage may be minimized, but where it hits you full-on the chances of your escaping serious injury are slim. Even with bars fitted, the fact is that very little stands between your side and car that’s smashing into you.
In Australia these rigid bars are known as ‘roo bars’, because they are fitted to vehicles in the outback to protect them in the event of collisions with kangaroos. Where pedestrians and cyclists are more likely collision partners than kangaroos, bull bars give cause for concern because they maximize the risk and extent of injury to vulnerable road users. Whereas a child has a good chance of surviving when hit by a normal car travelling at 20 mph, a vehicle with bull bars fitted can kill at 10 mph.
There is a campaign under way to outlaw bull bars in Britain and elsewhere. In the meantime, if your car has bull bars or if you insist on having some fitted, make sure you notify your insurer. To reflect the greater scale of damage and injury caused by bull bars, insurance companies may charge a higher premium. Failure to notify your insurer could result in your policy being invalidated.
If you intend to use your car to transport heavy objects, tie-down eyes attached to the floor or side panels are essential. These small loops provide an anchor whereby heavy items can be secured to the chassis so that they won’t be hurled forward in a collision. It is not safe to carry loose heavy items in the back of an estate or hatchback with split or folding rear seats, as the structure is not strong enough to restrain the load in a crash. There have been cases of children carried in the rear seat being paralysed by support struts being driven into their spines by the force of the load shifting forward. If you don’t have tie-downs, use a load separator to prevent objects shifting forward. Alternatively, carry suitcases and other large items secured to a roof rack. (See Loading the Car and Towing in Long Journeys for further advice on carrying heavy loads, fitting roof racks, and towing trailers and caravans.)
It will assist the car’s stability if you spread your load evenly — and that includes passengers. Don’t have all the heaviest passengers on one side of the car, or all in the back. Too much weight in the rear causes light steering, and if one side is carrying a much heavier load than the other you could have problems when cornering.
Never allow passengers to travel in the luggage area or on a folded down rear seat.
Inside the passenger compartment, keep things stowed away securely. Avoid having sharp or solid objects like glass bottles or hard-edged toys in the car, as these can cause serious injuries if the brakes are applied sharply. Keep the parcel shelf clear of packages to eliminate the risk of flying objects and to ensure good rear vision. Clear the driver’s footwell of loose objects, too, as these can easily get under the pedals and cause an accident.
If you need to hang suits or dresses in the car, use the hooks provided, and make sure they do not swing around or interfere with rear vision.
So what makes a safe driver? Is it quick reaction time? The ability to handle a high-performance car well at high speed? Skill at the controls? Years of experience? Training in skills such as controlling a skid?
Ironically, the more skill and accuracy with which you handle the controls, the more confident you are that your speedy reaction times allow you to cope with high speeds, the more you believe that you are a good driver… the greater the statistical chance of your being involved in an accident. The reality is that few drivers are anywhere near as good as they think they are.
The key to being a safe driver is to remember the four As:
ALERTNESS
AWARENESS
ATTITUDE
ANTICIPATION
About a third of all accidents are rear-end shunts, where one vehicle collides with the back of another. This is a classic example of what happens when a motorist is not paying sufficient attention. Being alert means being on the look out for hazards, anticipating problems before they occur and responding quickly. It is an offence to drive without due care and attention, or to drive while under the influence of substances which are likely to impair your ability to perceive risks and take action to avoid them.
A number of factors can interfere with your ability to remain alert, among them: drink and drugs, medical conditions (such as hay fever and sight disorders), stress, fatigue, and allowing yourself to be distracted by things going on inside the car.
In Britain, careless driving can lead to fines, disqualification or endorsement of your licence. The police can prosecute for careless driving even if there has not been an accident. It’s no use pleading that you were careless because you were tired-the law takes a dim view