Slaves to machines?

It has been a year since I had the luminous orange triangle up. Today marks my graduation from the probation period which I must say I've been a pretty obedient driver.

I am one of those few retards who would prefer to take the wheel instead of the back seat. Ever since I sat in my dad's car when I was young, I've been fascinated by how one is able to operate and manoeuvre such a powerful machine, and exceptionally impressed by the manual gear stick. However, when it was finally my turn to take the front seat, I realised the true destruction power of such a machine.

Today I sit here typing this post as a relatively seasoned and experienced driver, and someone who would count his blessings after going through a traumatising road accident merely weeks after getting the license. It's nothing like bumper cars at the night markets, it's expensive, emotionally and physically draining and more crucially life threatening. I could have lost my arms or legs, or even life should the occurrence sequence had twitched by a second or two. It is that serious.

After going through that incident, I've learnt the importance of safety on the roads as everything happens in a blink of an eye. The lives of you and your passengers lie in your reaction and judgement in that split second.

And in order to hone the attributes to save lives or minimise damage, experience and skill in operating the vehicle is vital. I've been through other tests and came out tops, be it owing to sheer luck or judgement and skill, but I've learnt from every experience I had on the road. And I don't deny I put in extra practice on slopes, changing gears, reversing, and being aware of the surroundings all the time. You can call me a driving fanatic, but I would classify doing such things as the bare minimal pre-requisites to have a safe trip from Point A to B.

As much as I love the art of driving, I value safety more than anything else. Just 2 days after swerving out of someone's blind spot right into another lane with an on coming car and maintaining control, it's a timely reminder of my dad's preaching of "precautionary driving", knowing that you can control your actions but you can never predict the actions of others.

I would not in my wildest dreams declare that I'm skilled and experienced as compared to thousands of others on the road, but I would say I'm happy with my progress as a 1 year old driver. With more experience comes knowledge and instinct. While you can't prevent accidents from happening, since they are called accidents, you can prevent an accident waiting to happen. Don't be a liability and nuisance on the roads. But still, enjoy the ride.

(Disclaimer: I am not a spokesperson for the Traffic Police!)