Of recent, driving in Jos has been made more difficult by the increase of vehicles in the township. Additionally, drivers probably carrying ‘genuine driver’s licenses’ were not taught how to drive. JOSIAH MUTIHIR writes
THE worst driving behavior now is the phantom terminology called ‘open-hand’ driving. I checked for the meaning in the dictionary, and even the internet and found none. This type of driving is a monster that is consuming lives, maiming other road users, damaging property (vehicles), wasting resources and time to mention but a few of the ill-effects. Even government drivers who should know better are culprits of this crime.
I know of a colleague of mine who, when he goes to the United States, rents a car to drive around as long as he is there. That means that Nigerian ‘driver’s license’ is recognized in the United States after looking at the content of the driver’s manual / handbook or the highway code. That means the colleague is safe to drive there and will not harm the lives of their citizens.
Today, there appears to be a new terminology introduced into the Nigerian Driver’s manual which is ‘open-hand’ which is not only dangerous but wicked to mention the least.
Being an inquisitive person, I noticed this type of diving creeping into our streets over the last 10 years. I sought to find out why people are now driving that way, and I was emphatically told it was ‘open-hand’ driving.
I was ‘educated’ that whenever you wanted to turn right, you needed to first of all go left, to make space for you to then turn off to the right. In the same way, whenever you wanted to turn left, you had to first of alldrift to the right to create space for you to turn to the left.
The situation is so bad that even those branching off to the right,have to obstruct vehicles coming behind them to turn to the right! Notice that they are just branching off the road. Similarly, those branching of to the left, first of all move to the right lane, obstructing vehicles coming behind them before branching to the left. What a disaster!
The most frequent occurrence is drivers doing a ‘U’ turn on the highway. The drivers feel they have the right to veer off to the right first, so they can make the ‘U’ turn at one go, even if the road is so wide that they can go round at one go. It has become a bad habit and no one cares about what happens to other road users coming behind such drivers. They even have the guts to yell at you when you appear to be uncomfortable with their driving. They appear to say “Can’t you see that I am turning off the road? Why can you not stop for me to do my thing before you pass? Are you that impatient? (I don’t know who is actually lawless and impatient). The blame is heaped on the other road user who has done nothing wrong and has the right to pass seamlessly when “that motorist” wants to turn off the road.
I remember about 35 years ago, while in the university in Zaria as a student. My must-read column of the then “New Nigerian’ newspaper was the Wednesday column which dealt with ‘motoring’. The columnist stated something that caught my attention to which I practice till today while driving. He said! Make driving as easy or stress-free for other road users as you would wish for yourself. He stated things like indicating very early when you wish to turn off to the left or to the right. That makes other road users to adjust promptly to your intended next move. In this case, no undue adrenaline is released causing stress particularly for those driving behind you. Similarly, drive on your own lane and not partially occupyingtwo lanes, particularly when the road is marked. Ensure your brake lights are working so that anyone behind you knows you are slowing down for one reason or the other. That gives that person the signal to also slow down and avoid bumping into you. Whenever you wish to drive slowly, being on a pleasure drive or taking a phone call, move to the slow or outer lane to give way to those that need to move faster to proceed. That is fact of life. At other times, you would also need to move faster but someone is blocking your intent for which you would be upset. No one should trail behind you while you are on a pleasure drive or wait for you to take a phone call. It is selfishness. The road does not belong to you Sir! It is public property.
The other thing that I observe is on highways where the middle pavement has been narrowed to provide a cover for you when branching off or turning to the left. This is for your safety and protection from other vehicles coming behind you at faster speeds. Many road users are ignorant of this gesture of road construction. The same behavior is exhibited as drivers still ignore the intent, drift to the right before turning off to the left.
This writer had a near fatal incident in Little Rayfield to which I will never forget. I was driving on the slow lane behind what turned up to be a female driver. On getting to the ‘Col. Dungs Events Center’, this driver veered off the slow lane to the fast lane apparently ‘to create space’ to enter the events center. Unknown to this driver, there was another car that was on the fast lane. That day, three cars would have been involved in a tragic accident involving the writer were it not for the emergency braking by the motorist on the fast lane. We would have said that God prevented this catastrophe. But does God need to be called into what is obviously bad and dangerous driving? After the what was a ‘near-miss’, I stopped, parked my car and went to see the driver; to find out why she did that. She said she was doing ‘open-hand’ to enter the events center. I told her it was clearly dangerous driving. She affirmed that she had been taught by a driving school and friends to drive that way. I affirmed it was not only wrong but dangerous and deadly driving and could even cost her life.
Of recent, there has been confusion in my mind as to who actually teaches prospective drivers the skills to drive. Secondly, who certifies or testifies that you are able to drive after the teaching or ‘training’. Who monitors driving on the roads by motorists? Are there penalties for such offences?How many people have been convicted or even jailed? These are pertinent questions that if not answered and harnessed, driving will continue to be a challenge on our roads. We cannot turn a blind eye to gravely dangerous driving in the townships knowing that it cost lives, maim other road users and in short, it is anything but very dangerous. Lagos state introduced harsh measures on road users that we all know which has sanitized driving there.
I call on the Federal Road Safe Core officers to randomly stop road users, ask them for the Driver’s Handbook and ask what some statements in the highway code mean. Stopping us and asking whether our driver’s license is up to date or has expired is not enough.
Concerning the issue of ‘rights’ to the use of the roads, perpetuators of this dangerous driving would always state that they have a right to the use of the road, forgetting that other road users equally have rights to the use of the same road. The issue is, abiding by the code of driving and the ethics therein. Obstructing other road users is unacceptable and devilish!
In conclusion, there is nothing like ‘open-hand’ in driving. It is just a demonstrationof selfishness, greed and inconsideration for other road users by some motorists. It is unacceptable and must be stopped by the relevant authorities. We have had enough of carnage, maiming, damage to cars, waste of resources, waste of time and so on. This bad habit or intentional highway crime has no place in the highway code. It must be stamped out and the earlier the better.
Recommendations
The Vehicle Inspecting Officers (VIOs) and the Federal Road Safety Core (FRSC) officers to partner in harmonizing driving code and revise same from time to time as exigencies demand
All driving schools teaching this type of driving must be banned or de-listed with immediate effect (Course Content for driving schools to be crafted by FRSC and VIOs)
The driving tests which formerly were common admirable sight, causing giggles in some of us when we remember when we had ours, and wishing the candidate good luck from within the mind
The VIOs and FRCS to have oversight function to the driving schools to see what they are teaching
The law enforcement agents, to put stiff penalties on this illegal and dangerous method of driving on our roads
Driver’s license of perpetuators to be confiscated and or revoked until the driverdemonstrates remorse and shows evidence of not driving this way henceforth
Effort to be made by relevant bodies to delete this illegal terminology and concept from the brains of all motorists including prospective drivers
The highway code booklets should be readily available for sale to road users by ‘newspaper vendors’ just as we get the Nigerian Constitution from them.
Josiah Turi Mutihir is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
