Dear Rule Breakers,
Not all rules are meant to be broken. Especially, the road safety rules.
Some days , when I see pedestrians waltzing on the roads and vehicles moving confidently on the pavements, I actually wonder if, somehow, I was taught things wrong, or if the rules had changed overnight.
Remember when you were a little kid and your teacher taught you to ‘Look left, right. Then, cross the road’? She was NOT joking. You might have been too young to be told this then, but this rule applies when you are on a vehicle, too, regardless of the size of the vehicle, wheel count, colour, number of people on the vehicle… you see where I'm going. (Even if you are walking across a one-way road, look both sides - yes, you know why. You know where you live.)
It might look misleading, but your helmet is not a fashion accessory; for example, it isn't a Gucci bag to hang on the crook of your elbow when you drive. Neither is it something to put your groceries in after you've been shopping. It's for safety ( - yes, that word again). And it can't keep your head safe if it's on the petrol tank or between your feet. Oh, and head injuries don't just occur when you are in the field of vision of a traffic police officer.
Those small blinking lights on either side of your vehicle can be turned on when you need to take a turn or change lanes. (You do know that they exist, right?... right?) No, it is not a crime to do that. No, you will not be arrested. And when the blinkers on my vehicle are turned on, please pay heed. I'm not doing that because I am practicing for the club I want to start.
Overtaking someone on the road is not a mistake. So, it would not kill you to be less secretive about it and alert the driver before you do zip past him. But not doing that is a sure way to get yourself killed.
Headlights can be dimmed. Surprise, surprise! The next time you think someone is driving like a blind man, remember, you might be right. He might be blinded because you are shining a light in his face and the only thoughts in his head would probably be ‘there was road here’ or ‘am I dead and moving towards the light’ or ‘who taught that #%@# (you) how to drive’.
Red is ‘stop’.
Stop before the white line. And not half way across the pedestrian crossing.
Green is ‘go’. Not amber, GREEN. GREEN! GREEN!!
Another thing, honking does not make the vehicles in front of you go faster. It doesn't make the yellow light turn green - Yes, it’s been tested.
So ... BE SELFISH ! Take care of ‘YOU’rself. Protect ‘YOU’r head. Give up practices that make YOU prone to road accidents. Keep 'YOU'r family safe.
Do that, and you will be making the roads safer for everyone, including ‘YOU’rself.
Yours Sincerely,
That person who does not move until the light turns green.