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Transport managers, fleet controllers and transport officers always study accidents involving their fleet and decide whether they were preventable or not.
When the accident is judged to have been preventable, they have an obligation to make certain the driver avoids a similar accident in future.
Preventable or not?
A preventable accident is one in which you failed to do everything you reasonably could have done to prevent it.
This writer is yet to come across a non-preventable accident in his career.
The question that may now come into your mind is “Preventable by whom?”
Who prevents accidents?
Accidents can be prevented by one of the drivers, both drivers in the event of it involving two cars or more in multiple car crashes.
Legally one of the parties is guilty after an accident and in some rare cases here and there, both parties may be jointly charged for causing the accident.
At times, though rarely, the law may fail to prove a prima facie case against the parties concerned.
So the major question on preventability is “What reasonable steps should one take to prevent such an accident?”
The Traffic Safety Council upon request can send an expert to guide your organisation in determining the preventability of an accident. Our main prescription is a defensive driving course.
CASE STUDIES
Case 1
Mr X was driving along the Mhandamabwe-Shurugwi Road at about 120km/h.
About 30km from Mandamabwe he lost control, veered off the road and overturned.
His blue Spacio vehicle was a write-off and he was pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.
Analysis
The surface at the scene of accident is rough and bumpy. Mr X was travelling at the legally accepted maximum speed limit for such cars but his speed was too fast for the road condition.
At lower speeds his vehicle was not likely to veer off the road. At lower speeds he would not have lost control of the light motor vehicle.
Therefore, Mr X could have prevented the accident.
Case 2
Dee is a foreign cross-border driver driving a 30-tonne truck along Harare Drive due south at 1030pm.
Upon approaching Kirkman Road in Harare, he realised that he had to notice a T-junction ahead.
He failed to stop the vehicle, turned the vehicle to the right, veered off the road and the truck landed on its right side.
A Mrs E who was driving from the city centre along Kirkman Drive due West collided with the truck and died on the spot. The surviving passenger B said Mrs E was travelling at 120km/h.
Analysis
Driver D was travelling at night and should have reduced his speed to match the time of the day.
His vehicle was locked in the 10th gear, suggesting that he was travelling at a high speed.
As a foreign driver who was not familiar with the roads, he should have anticipated unknown intersections.
Mrs E’s speed was too high for that time of the day. At 120km/h, and all things equal, you need approximately 132m to react and stop (i.e. the total stopping distance).
The average headlights illuminate about 100m ahead and there was no way Mrs E could have stopped in time at that speed to avoid the collision.
This accident was preventable by both drivers.
Case 3
Mrs P was driving along Samora Machel Avenue due east heading towards town. As she turned right into Rotten Row she was sideswiped by a commuter omnibus that was also turning right simultaneously.
Her car was damaged on the left front passenger door and front left fender.
Analysis
The commuter omnibus driver used a lane, which has an arrow to show that it is for vehicles going straight ahead.
The use of the lane by the commuter omnibus driver was not only dangerous but illegal.
Mrs P was also supposed to check her mirrors and the blind spot as she turned.
She would have picked the car and stopped in time to avoid a costly accident. This was a preventable accident by both Mrs P and the commuter omnibus driver.
Conclusion
A good way of studying preventability of accidents is to analyse newspaper accounts of accidents that happen in your country.
Of course, newspapers do not always have the space to tell all the details of the accident, but frequently tell enough to give a good idea of how the accident could have been prevented by one or more the parties.
Companies willing to analyse the types of accidents that happen to their fleet must contact this writer on the contact details below.
The Traffic Safety Council will send a defensive driving expert who will help judge whether the accident was preventable or not.
The expert will come up with ways of teaching the other drivers how to prevent a similar accident. TOGETHER WE CAN SAVE MILLIONS OF LIVES.
The writer, Ernest Muchena, is the spokesperson of the Traffic Safety’ Council of Zimbabwe. He is a defensive driving expert and can be contacted on 0772 110 898 or 04-751208 (3). Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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