Driving in a muddy and watery road

Driving any kind of vehicle is a matter of full concentration and the process runs with some accompanying risks. It can be something with a difference in a developed society where everything is almost fine. But in our perspective it is clearly racing with life in hands.

Roads, transports and drivers are not beyond controversy. A good and well educated driver with a new vehicle on a nice road will mean something different. What we have to experience is that all are not the same and only a weak hand is enough to cause a fatal accident.

Ours is a country where broken roads, faulty transports and "not-well-trained drivers" are not too little in number. You are good but others will have to be good to ensure a safe road. Keeping in mind the faults in our driving license giving system and training pattern we shall discuss a specific aspect of the arena. That is muddy and watery road.

Very often we see the mud or water splashed by transport wheels spoil the dresses of the passers-by. Someone going to office or some friends started to attend a marriage ceremony and at that very stage a car, a CNG-run auto-rickshaw, a public bus or a two-wheeler sprayed muddy water on them- just a very unwanted and embarrassing situation indeed. We are sure that drivers in our country were never told about such a situation while imparting training.

In cold countries drivers know how to run amid snowfall or ice but here we never even thought about water or mud in road systematically. We have to keep in mind that when brake shoes get wet those work less than the original intensity.  Moreover, if water gets into the engine through the silencer it must have to go down to get in order again.

So, when driving being done through muddy ways, the speed will be slow and the same will be in watery ways. But in a submerged situation a driver cannot run in slow speed. When speed minimized, water will get chance to enter into the engine. That means a driver will have to take different decisions in accordance with the situation.

Now the question is: Are our drivers anytime were taught all these aspects of driving? The answer will be: No. Practically they are facing all these problems and learning through accidents and fatality. That is obviously not a noble way of learning how to perform a smooth ride.

In the training system for our drivers the above subjects should be included and part of the test should be taken in muddy, watery and submerged road. During test no need to make a road so submerged which may damage the engine. Make believe the participants in such a way that they must think to save the engine.

Such trainings will protect all from slipping with vehicles out of the road. A bikers' circle printed a sticker saying, 'Awareness is road safety' but here we want to add something more and say, "Perfect training is only the way for ensuring road safety".

An engineer by profession, Reaz Ahmed  writes for The Asian Age