Category: Motoring

Driving is a very complex task, a unique multi-tasking job. The main responsibility of a driver is safety. Every passenger or vehicle occupant relies on the driver to get them to their destinations safely. Drivers, therefore, must show responsibility towards their vehicle Occupants and other road users. The driver has the responsibility of duty of care, taking every necessary steps to ensure the safety of his vehicle occupants and other road users.

Drivers (and Riders) have the responsibility to hold valid driver licence for the category of vehicles they drive. It is however, very sad that a very high percentage of drivers and riders in Nigeria have no licence while a sizeable number also drive with expired licence. Over 70 percent did not attend any driving school to acquire the requisite theory and practical training. So many drivers have not been attending on – the – job professional training programme to boost their capability in. Vehicle technology, mental and physical fitness of drivers and road traffic regulations are dynamic. Drivers and diders must be up to date through regular re – training (annually or biennially).

Drivers have the responsibility to understand and obey all traffic signs, signals, markings and other regulations. Research has, however, revealed that over 70 percent of drivers and riders in Nigeria don’t know the meaning of most of the traffic signs. A high percentage of road users also do not obey the traffic signs, traffic light and other rules thereby fuelling the rate of road traffic crashes in the country.

It is the driver’s responsibility to notify the relevant authorities if he or she has developed any serious illness or disability that could affect his or her fitness to drive without hiding any information.

It is the responsibility of the driver to monitor the road worthiness of the vehicle he drives, updating of the vehicle documents, and proper handling of the vehicle. The way a driver handles the vehicle also determines the road worthiness and life span of the vehicle. Drivers must drive the vehicles in a manner that’s sympathetic to the road environment (including fuel – efficient driving or ecosafe driving techniques).

Drivers are to a large extent responsible for journey and route planning for safety and security. There are, however, reports that their principals often interfere sometimes abruptly. It is advisable that all employers of drivers should see them as professionals and give them the free hand to drive as trained. The advice of drivers should not be thrown away without consideration. A wise man can learn from a fool not to talk of professionals operating in their fields of endeavours. Drivers must regularly apply professional driving techniques (planning, perception and anticipation skills) to ensure safety in all situations.

Drivers have responsibility towards other road users. Human error is the main cause of most road traffic crashes. Drivers must play very proactive role in making sure road accidents don’t happen. When you drive properly, you and your passengers or vehicle occupants will arrive safely at your destinations. On the other hand, if you drive carelessly or dangerously, you risk the safety of yourself, passengers and other road users.

Be responsible for driving your vehicle safely and sensibly at all times and in all situations.

Jide Owantunmise

Driving schools are offering life-saving services and should therefore not be a target of the tax authorities and agencies for high rate of taxes and levies.

Driving School Association of Nigeria (DSAN) should be engaged in dialogue on regular basis with the Federal and state governments as well as the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies on issues relating to driving schools, driver education, Transportation and road safety because driving schools are the ultimate executors of the policies and regulations on transportation, driving and safety.

Insurance firms in Nigeria should give special premium concessions to the public and private sector organisations that regularly train their drivers.

A day should be set aside during the United Nations’ Remembrance of Road Accident victims (Third week of November) to mark the Drivers Day in Nigeria — a day for the promotion of quality driver education, driver motivation and Safety on Nigeria roads.

Consequent upon the universally acclaimed fact that over 70 percent of road traffic crashes are attributable to drivers (major Component of the Human Factors), there should be more focus and supports for driver education particularly through driving schools.

Driving schools, through the DSAN, should be seen and treated as a major stakeholder in transportation and road safety as it obtains in other countries.

It is time for all arms of government (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary), regulatory agencies, employers of drivers and other stakeholders to pay more attention to road transportation and driver education for safer road use in Nigeria.

 

 

Tajudeen Adebanjo

Some auto plants will resume production this week in the United States and United Kingdom.

Mchigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has said the state’s factories can reopen on today, removing one of the last major obstacles to North American automakers bringing thousands of laid-off employees back to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

While reopening the manufacturing sector, Whitmer also extended her state’s stay-at-home order by about two weeks to May 28, citing a desire to avoid a second wave of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the novel coronavirus.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, but this is an important step forward. As we continue to phase in sectors of our economy, I will keep working around the clock to ensure our businesses adopt best practices to protect workers,” Whitmer said in a statement.

General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said they were targeting resuming vehicle production in North America on May 18, but suppliers would need time to prepare ahead for that date.

Japanese car maker Toyota has also confirmed it will resume production at its North Wales engine plant.

However, Toyota said that it other UK plant, at Burnaston in Derbyshire, will remain closed with a restart date to be announced in the coming weeks.

Staff at the Deeside plant will return to work today to undergo several days of safety induction, with a view to resuming production  on Wednesday.

It has also confirmed that its plant in Sakaraya, Turkey will also open this week.

Toyota said that extensive health and safety protocols have been implemented at both plants.

Production at the Deeside plant was suspended on March 18, due to the coronavirus. Outside of Airbus in Broughton, it is one of the biggest private sector employers in North Wales, with a workforce of 600.

In a statement, Toyota said: “The decision to restart these two production operations is based on various considerations, but fundamental has been the ability to ensure the sites’ safety by implementing thorough and detailed hygiene and social distancing recommendations.”

Toyota has already reopened plants in France and Poland.

Tajudeen Adebanjo

Honda has given its popular Civic hatchback a light update for 2020, but it still makes the model a credible player in this competitive class.

It wasn’t long that Honda debuted its latest Swindon-built Civic hatchback in 2017.

However, a lot has happened in the auto  world since that time; that is since the Civic’s debut just three years ago, there has been a new Ford Focus, a new Kia Ceed and a new Volkswagen Golf as well.

While the Civic can still hold its ground – and remain a popular model that’s now in its 10th generation – Honda has seen fit to update its Swindon-built hatchback for 2020. It’s a light update, with Honda introducing slight styling tweaks along with a new EX Sport Line trim, which gives a sportier look. Revisions have also been made to the touchscreen system in response to customer feedback.

The engine line-up available with the Civic remains the same as before, with a pair of petrol engines available alongside a diesel unit.

The car uses the entry-level engine – a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol, which produces 124bhp and 200Nm of torque. A six-speed manual gearbox or a CVT automatic is available.

On paper, it’s not the quickest, with 0-60mph taking 11 seconds, along with a top speed of 126mph. It’s quite an efficient option, though – returning a claimed 45.6mpg, with CO2 emissions of 110g/km.

Despite its modest power output, it feels far more potent than it is, with a strong torque delivery throughout the rev range and just enough power for most conditions.

The other engines are a punchy 179bhp 1.5-litre engine, as well as a 118bhp 1.6-litre diesel option, though neither are available on this EX Sport Line trim level.

Since the latest Civic launched in 2017, this model has been one of the best cars to drive in its class – being about on par with the Focus, and ahead of the Golf.

With no mechanical changes made on this update then, it’s much the same story. The steering is involving and the ride is genuinely comfortable, though the firmer setup on this trim level means you could be better with another grade if you want maximum comfort.

The only real gripe, though, is with rear visibility. It’s not been a strong point of the Civic for quite a few generations, and the rear wing that this EX Sport Line brings certainly doesn’t help matters. It’s well worth going for a model with a reversing camera for this reason.

On the inside of the Civic, the changes are limited but welcome. Honda has listened to feedback from customers and introduced more physical buttons into the cabin – including for the volume and touchscreen, which were two things you had to use the touchscreen for before. It’s quite refreshing to see a firm making a step like this, though as the touchscreen itself remains the same, it remains a bit disappointing as it can be slow and unresponsive, and lags behind rival offerings.

The 478-litre boot is one of the largest in this class, and is a full 100 litres bigger than the Ford Focus, though rear space isn’t quite so class-leading.

Jide Owatunmise

 

The invasion and rapid spread of coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria has exposed the inadequacies of the Federal and state governments in the handling of emergencies. Both the Federal and state governments failed woefully in the “WHAT IF GAME”.

The Federal Government has been doing front and back, wrong following of developed countries in addressing the challenges when the economies are not the same and using trial by error approach to address the spread of the pandemic.

Most governors have been busy supervising the blockage of roads while there was no functional test and isolation centres in the states. These were indications that the Federal and state governments never thought of what to do in case there’s an outbreak of a disease(what if game).

While addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, the Federal and state governments should not forget the more deadly viruses that have been ravaging and will more dangerously ravage this country during and immediately after the pandemic. They are unemployment and road traffic crashes, among others. More on these on another day.

It is acclaimed that over 80 percent of road traffic crashes are attributed to human factors out of which about 70 percent are traceable to the drivers.

This means that with quality driver education and uncompromised traffic law enforcement, road traffic crashes, injuries and deaths will be significantly reduced.

However, there have been some challenges which have been making it almost impossible to achieve a significant reduction in road traffic crashes.

No matter how good the road is, it requires well trained and law-abiding drivers and riders to operate safely on them. In the same vein, no matter how new or roadworthy a vehicle is, it is the knowledge, skills and attitude of the driver that determines whether it will be a safe mode of transportation or not.

The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has the best network of roads and roadworthy vehicles. Yet, it has the highest rate of road traffic crashes in Nigeria. This further buttressed the significance of quality driver education and uncompromised traffic law enforcement.

The executive, legislative and judicial arms of government at the Federal, state and local government levels have not shown significant commitment to driver education and road safety compared to what obtains in most other countries.

Traffic law enforcement is very weak and grossly compromised by self-centred officers thereby watering down the necessity for quality driver education.

Technology, traffic regulations and personal health factors are dynamic. All drivers and the employers/managers of drivers in the public and private sectors should be mandated to undergo comprehensive refreshers training programmes in driving schools to fill their knowledge and skills gap annually and or before every renewal of their driver licence.

All traffic offenders apprehended by Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), VIOs, Police, and state traffic management agencies should be referred to driving schools for correctional training.

Driving schools should be up and doing in driver training and retraining (for individuals, government establishments and private sector organisations).

Driving schools should professionally run regular and customised training programmes for commercial drivers and riders as well.

The Driving Schooal Association of Nigeria (DSAN) should take up the responsibility of monitoring and promoting the standards of driving schools and driving school instructors in all the states in Nigeria and the FCT, in collaboration with the FRSC and relevant state government agencies.

DSAN has many qualified driving instructors and fleet assessors with  many years of experience in the United Kingdom, United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Australia and Canada, among others.

DSAN and TAC have signed a Memorandun of Understanding (MoU) with the School of Transportation of the Lagos State University (LASU) to run a specialised course in Driving Instruction and Traffic Management with lecture centres in all the states and the FCT. This will, ultimately, provide a boost to quality driver education.

The FRSC is currently planning an intensive professional training programme for all driving school operators and instructors to further enhance the much desired quality driver education in all the states in Nigeria and the FCT.

All the state governments should construct standard driving range in all their local government areas to be used by the VIOs for the practical tests of driver licence applicants for a fee to be paid to the government. driving schools will also be using the driving range for training their candidates at a fee also.

This when done, will create a steady source of revenue for the state governments and also enhance quality driver education as well as reduce the rate of road traffic crashes and fatalities.

Enforcement of road traffic regulations should be intensified without compromise with violators referred to driving schools for refresher or correctional training and re-certification. This will not only increase revenue generation for the government but also enhance quality driver education.

State of the art technology should be deployed for traffic eaw Enforcement to prevent the current state of corruption of the officers on the roads.

Licence withdrawal for chronic and dangerous traffic law violators should be introduced and enforced without compromise in addition to referring them to driving schools for comprehensive correctional training.

There should be regular monitoring and auditing of the public and private sector organisations including the associations of drivers and riders to ensure compliance with the mandatory refresher training of drivers and riders in accredited driving schools.

In most of the countries with low rates of road traffic crashes, their governments do support the driving schools with easy loans, grants, and capacity building among others.

The Federal and state governments should also be doing the same to further enhance standards and quality driver education through the driving schools.

 

By Tajudeen Adebanjo

 

From today, Porsche will restart its production, considering site-and task-specific requirements. Preparations have been concluded to guarantee the highest possible safety for employees and to ensure production can be gradually increased to full capacity.

Employees will resume in stages, as production ramps up at the main factory in Zuffenhausen and at the site in Leipzig.

“The restart is an important signal for our employees as well as for our customers. We have monitored and analysed the situation very carefully from the get-go and adapted processes in a flexible way.

Now is the right time to look forward with optimism and to resume work, with the appropriate precautions in place,” says Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board for Production and Logistics at Porsche AG.

A comprehensive catalogue of measures has been approved for the Porsche factories in Zuffenhausen and Leipzig. In addition to paying utmost importance to the protection of all employees, the measures are designed to enable the resumption of an orderly and efficient production in the shortest time possible.

For example, employees are required to observe a minimum distance of 1.50 metres, follow basic rules of conduct and to wear a face mask in defined areas.

Medical institutions and medical personnel have absolute priority for Porsche when it comes to providing protective clothing.

As part of the “Porsche helps” initiative, the company is organising equipment and has also donated money to hospitals as well as food to food banks. The budget for donations has been increased by five million euros.

Chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG Oliver Blume said: “It will take a great deal of effort to get the economic and social system moving again.

Everyone must make a contribution to this. It is important to have a positive fundamental attitude. Every crisis also offers opportunities and we want to make the most of them.”

The company initially stopped production in its two factories on March 21 for an initial period of two weeks and announced that it would continuously reassess the situation. Due to bottlenecks in the global supply chain, the factories have remained closed for a total of six weeks.

In addition to suspending production, Porsche also decided to implement a number of other strict measures. These will remain in force until further notice to relieve the burden on the infrastructure at the sites.

The significantly increased level of working remotely, in business areas that are not directly linked to the production of vehicles, will continue. Meetings are conducted via video or telephone conference, while the ban on business travel remains in place.