This article was published in The Citizen Newspaper, Tanzania on 6th June 2023.
It is strange to hear it said, they say, until you see it done. I was dumbfounded to see in the highways and byways of Arusha, how normal it is to drive a vehicle without knowing at what speed it is moving.
Speedometers are among the crucial elements in any vehicle, whether it goes on water, air or land.
Guesswork has proved to be incapable of giving appropriate guidance.
Notwithstanding, the number of these ‘faulty’ vehicles I have seen in my commutes for a week now is scarily alarming. While others may see just vehicles moving, I see potential accidents that can bring about irreparable damages or even deaths.
Speedometers are very crucial in vehicles as they help to keep road users organized and safe, but also help to maintain the health of the vehicle itself.
Speed influences how the driver changes gears. This is done well when the actual speed is seen. It is high time we do away with just listening to the voice of the car to see if it needs a change of gear.
In the strict sense, any vehicle that is not able to communicate to the driver its speed is dangerous and not road worthy.
It is particularly more worrying because there are many of these vehicles which are used for public transport, exposing the general public to risks of accidents, uncertainties and discomfort.
Enforcement is needed to ensure that vehicles are safe. The theoretical framework in this regard is outstanding, though the quality of practice is not necessarily the same.
So many accidents could be prevented if drivers knew at what speed they were driving. Speedometers are just as important as mirrors are.
I learnt driving in the UK, where we were taught to remember and always apply certain formulas. These formulas have been tested and proved to be of help in giving some assurance of safe driving, cutting through manoeuvres, town driving, rural driving, motorway driving, extreme weather driving, etc.
One of those driving formulas is MSPSL. This stands for Mirror, Signal, Positioning, Speed, and Looking. This formula applies at every moment of motoring. The people who discerned these motoring formulas did so after things went wrong. These were therefore brought in to prevent accidents.
Speed is beyond what can be compromised. It is something that should be monitored, whenever a vehicle is moving. It is incontestable that for most road accidents the impact increases proportionately to the speed of the vehicle in question.
Where the speed can be monitored, as in normal vehicles, the expected best and rational judgement of the driver will be to respond appropriately, matching the speed of the vehicle with the circumstances of travel that day, and the regulations in place.
The general public is like a portrait of varieties. The presence of variety informs us about the variety of capabilities, special needs and vulnerability based on health reasons, age and other demographics which are of particular importance.
This should inform us better to systematize good practices, make follow-ups and allow the system to grow roots.
Together with all that, I saw a school bus that looked too old to be allowed on our roads.
The driver closed the door carelessly and left it unattended, without winding up the side door windows. I asked, “Are you not afraid that this vehicle could be stolen?” He said, “Well, this minibus should not even be allowed on the roads.”
In plain honesty, the school bus looked really tired and worn out, and did not make an impression that it could safely transport school children who are vulnerable. Worth mentioning is the fact that the entire dashboard of this school bus was nothing to write home about.
This appears to be a motoring style of the place built over time, in which people learn to drive and get used to driving regardless of the dangers that come with it. Our driving schools can do better by providing well-equipped vehicles for learners so that they learn the right thing prior to taking commitments to keep the roads, themselves, and all other road users.