Better Safe than Sorry. . .

VOCABULARY

I took my driving test years ago, but am still sorry to say that I didn’t pass the first time for one simple reason – I had been distracted. I must have taken my eyes off the road for a few seconds to look at a poor Afghan hound that had got trapped in a car window, while its owner had gone to do some shopping. I was horrified to see the dog suffering and asked the driving examiner, if we could stop and help the dog. I didn’t realise that he had already failed me, and I completed a perfect three-point turn, reversed into a gap between two cars, did an emergency stop and answered a few questions.

I was so proud of myself and was sure that I had passed the test. I couldn’t believe my ears when the examiner told me that I had to apply for another test. When I asked the reason, he said that I had taken my eyes off the road for too long and could have easily killed someone on the zebra crossing. I went home heartbroken, but have always remembered his words.

These days the distraction is not an Afghan hound, hanging out of a car window, but the mobile phone. We all know how tempting it is to answer the phone, when we hear a quiet buzzing on the passenger seat next to us or a ping to let us know that a message has just arrived. However, we have to learn to ignore this and not always be available as an accident could happen. It could change our lives and that of someone else in the blink of an eye.

That is why I just couldn’t believe my eyes when I was driving into the city of Salzburg, last Friday. I counted 15 people using their phones while driving, within a 30-minute journey. Not all of them were speaking; some were sending or reading messages, while others were scrolling down looking for a number. To top it all, a police car overtook most of the cars and ignored the drivers completely. Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed the drivers, who were breaking the law, if I hadn’t just returned from England where, on a two-hour journey, I hardly saw anyone using their mobile phones whilst driving.

The reason is pure and simple; no, we have not become a nation of goody twoshoes, but the law has changed dramatically in Britain. If you are caught phoning while you are driving, the maximum of six penalty points will be put on your driving licence with an immediate fine of £200 and up to £1000, if the case is taken to court. The reason that the British police are putting their foot down is that there are over 100 deaths per year, caused by drivers who were on their phones.

So what am I getting at here? Well, right here in Austria, the Austrian Automobile Club (ÖMTC) have worked together with Samsung to create virtual headsets to show learner drivers the consequences of what can happen, if you are distracted while driving. The drivers will don the headsets as part of a plan to use artificial accidents to help them cope with real challenges on the road. In one simulated scenario, the driver glances down at a mobile phone before the car swerves off the road and the windscreen shatters. The students were shocked.

Franz Schönbauer, head of the club’s safety training centres, said: "It is not meant to scare the students, just to show them the consequences of their actions. Our philosophy is: if you tell people they won’t believe you, if you show them they will".

This project, which will be launched this month, will become a key feature of the technical courses that learner drivers in Austria must complete, within a year of passing their practical test.

It is a brilliant idea and, if it saves lives, well worth it. driving test – Führerscheinprüfung to pass a test – eine Prüfung bestehen distracted – abgelenkt trapped – eingeklemmt horrified – entsetzt to suffer – leiden driving examiner – Fahrprüfer to fail sbd. – jmd. durchfallen lassen three-point turn – Wenden in drei Zügen to reverse into a gap – rückwärts einparken emergency stop – Vollbremsung to apply – sich bewerben heartbroken – untröstlich tempting – verlockend quiet buzzing – leises Summen available – verfügbar blink of an eye – Augenblick to top it all – zu allem Überfluss to overtake – überholen to break the law – gegen ein Gesetz verstoßen pure and simple – schlicht und einfach goody two-shoes – Musterknabe an immediate fine – unverzügliche Strafe the case is taken to court – der Fall geht vor Gericht to put one’s foot down – energisch einschreiten caused by – verursacht von to don sth. – etw. aufsetzen to cope – mit etw. fertig werden challenge – Herausforderung to glance down – kurz hinunter schauen to swerve – schleudern windscreen – Windschutzscheibe to shatter – zersplittern to scare – schrecken to launch – einführen it is well worth it – es lohnt sich