Always indicate intention and not action

CARS on our roads have been involved in accidents due to lack of proper indication by motorists whenever they make that long anticipated and planned turn.

Truth of the matter is that no one will start and inish driving without indicating his/her intent to change lanes, overtake or even take another direction from the pursued course. Indication therefore remains one of the most avid driver’s communication tool with other road users, motorists in particular of their intent in a few hundreds of metres.

Sadly, this is an execution that is greatly undermined and in the process, a lot of injuries that at times have been fatal and serious have resulted.

Looking at the traf ic scenery from an Accident Prevention Perspective, the following points regarding indication, indicators and execution thereafter are imperative to know by road users and further be adherent to.

Functional indicators: Motorists should ensure that indicators of their vehicles are perfectly functional in all four angles for the bene it of other motorists he would share space with in traf ic. One indicator light that is malfunctioning is most likely to cause as much damage as the other three not working at all.

A vehicle will always show from the interior panels that there is one side of an indicator that is not functional.

That is not a minor mechanical fault, ignoring it may lead to a serious accident. Some indicator glass lights are so opaque other motorists will not get to see which side of the road this particular driver is intending to make a turn.

WEATHER BEATEN

Such glass may simply be too old, the vehicle may have been exposed to the sun and the glass is weather beaten to give any clear light for the bene it of other road users in the vicinity. It is important therefore that such glass panels are intermittently checked and replaced so that they are clear and visible.

Indicate intention, not action: A vehicle with the most immaculate of indicators would still cause an accident if the driver does not timeously inform the other road users of his intent, say, to change lanes, overtake or even make a turn.

This is a result of indication just when one is executing the action they had long known and intended to make. Oftentimes drivers in fast lowing traf ic will decide on the spur of the moment to change lanes.

Some would not indicate at all whilst others will simultaneously indicate whilst they execute the action. This does not give other road users suf icient time to be informed so that they can adjust their driving to accommodate the indicating drivers intended action.

Most rear-collisions are caused by the driver in front failing to indicate in good time.

Turnoff indicators after execution: Some drivers do not pay attention to the dashboard, especially to the fact that their vehicles would still be indicating long after execution of the intended action.

This misleads motorists into believing the vehicle is yet to execute the action hence the indication. Indication timeously and clearly is thus a very signi icant aspect of sharing space and communicating with other road users of one’s next intended move lest there is an accident.

TAKE AWAYS

Fix your vehicle’s faulty indicators Replace old and opaque indicator glass panels Indicate your intention and not your action Take correct turns as per your indication Check your blind spots before changing lanes.

INDICATE YOUR INTENTION CLEARLY, TIMEOUSLY AND PREVENT POTENTIAL ACCIDENTS IN TRAFFIC!