COFFEE, food, bottles, phones, newspapers and cigarettes need to be kept away when driving.
Marius van Rensburg, an Opel Driving Dynamics’ instructor at Gerotek in Fairlands, Joburg, said: “Driving is about the right attitude to safety. Take care that you follow at the right distance, indicate before turning and check your blind spots before changing lanes.
“You need to see everything on the road, be able to stop in an emergency and avoid situations that lead to road rage.”
Using the latest Opels, such as the CrossLand, GrandLand and Astra, Marius showed us how a reliable car does not brake as quickly as we assume.
“If you know how slowly it takes a modern car with smart braking technology to stop, you know how much slower an old car with poor brakes will come to a stop. This is why there are so many deadly crashes on the road.
“Nobody has a good reaction time. You do not have everything under control.
“Most people say they control their car but never remember how quickly everything changes in a second.
“Only 30% of you driving is your skill. 70% is your attitude to driving. How much protection do you think 30% provides?
“If you think you can read a message or chat with someone on your phone, even if traffic is light and moving slowly, you may as well be blind – that’s exactly how much you are in control.
“Anybody who says otherwise is an arrogant and dangerous fool you need to avoid.
“Long distance driving needs you to sit correctly in the seat. If you slouch behind the wheel, your reaction time will be too slow if you need to react to a problem.
“You need to handle your car as if it was a loaded firearm,” he said.
