by Ayeen Jafery
So everyone, you know it, I know it, lets all do it!
Revised by Joanne Lim
Let's talk about safety on the roads, after all there are more than a few PTEK students who are driving to school and thus, expose themselves to all kind of dangers while driving. Although majority of us are still sent by our fathers, mothers and other family members to school, I still think that it's about time that we look into what safety on road is all about.
Everyone knows there are a lot of accidents in Brunei. We hear and read about it all the time. By recent statistics, there were about 2,000 accidents in one year. By my calculations, that is about five accidents per day! This shows just how poor safety awareness are in Brunei, and that observing road safety is not taken very seriously. Some drivers do not even bother to wear the safety belt. They drive at high speed without paying attention to the speed limits and they also do not follow the road rules and regulations. Another thing is that most drivers still do not know how to use the roundabout although information and guidance have been made available.
This article is to promote safety awareness on the road and this awareness should be practiced at this college. One of the basic safety rules is never forget to wear the safety belt at all times when in the car, regardless of whether you are the driver or the passenger. It's there in the car for a reason! By wearing the safety belt, there's a higher chance that you can stay safe when there is a car accident. Just think of the consequences, not only is your life at risk, your car is as well! Your car might get wrecked badly and you'd have to pull out a couple of hundreds or even thousands of dollars to pay for repairs and the damage may be so serious that your car can't even be repaired.
Apart from wearing the safety belt, it is also important to follow other safety rules. Practices such as controlling your speed and avoiding tailgating the cars in front of you are also very crucial while driving. Most importantly, do not use your mobile phone while on the wheel i.e texting, facebook-ing, whatsapp-ing, receiving/making a phone call or tweeting. If it is that important, please do pull over to the side of the road and turn on the double signal.
For students who have just had their license, it is important for you not to be disturbed by your friends (if you bring them along) while driving. This goes out to the parents as well, keep your eyes on the road and don't mind the children or at least check up on them on few seconds intervals via the rearview mirror. Do not lose your concentration and stay alert at all times. Last but not least, I would like to advise all students to convey this message to all your family members in order to reduce the number of road accidents in Brunei.
Revised by Joanne Lim
