Surviving On Aggressive Roads – Be Lane Sane

One of the most ignored road safety aspects on our roads is about lane discipline. Safety begins with the basics, like where one is positioned on the road. A slow moving vehicle in the overtaking lane is as much of a mishap waiting to happen as a fast moving vehicle overtaking from the slow lane. Maintaining the correct lane is key to safety and traffic discipline

• Commit to a lane

Commit to your lane and stick to it unless a diversion is inevitable. Swaying across multiple lanes is extremely risky and irresponsible as a vehicle user on public roads. Find your comfortable speed and choose the correct lane accordingly. A slow moving vehicle should stick to the left lane at all times. When moving at ideal speed, stick to the center lane and glance the rear view mirrors from time to time to know what is happening behind your back. Choose the fast lane only to make an overtake and then return back to the center lane for allowing other vehicles to make a safe overtake.

• Indicator of safety

Use your vehicle's indicators, or blinkers to signal your lane changing maneuver well in advance as a responsible road user. Do not throw a sudden surprise at fellow road users by swerving in or out of a lane without warning. Always plan your move in advance and convey your move by way of using turn signal indicators. Using turn indicators is a very simple, but extremely effective way to safely change the position of your car laterally on the road.

• Cover your back

A crucial piece of information to be processed before changing lanes is to identify what is happening behind you. Is there a faster vehicle trying to overtake you? Address such risks with a quick but conclusive glance at the rear view mirrors. The mirrors provide critical information that can keep you safe on the road. Always check the mirrors before you decide to change the lane. With rear view mirrors, there generally is a blind spot where the vehicles overtaking you are sometimes not visible. Be doubly sure that there's no vehicle in your RVM's blind spot before making a lane change. ..