Sunday Times 2
A Formula for safe and joyful driving: The 3Cs
View(s):By Prof. Kolitha H. Sellahewa
The scale of road traffic accidents is alarming and has resulted in many preventable deaths and disabilities.
It is essential for all road users to adhere to the Highway Code and take responsibility to prevent road accidents. Poor standards in the mushrooming driving schools and corruption in the issue of driving licences are major root causes that need to be addressed, but they are beyond our purview.
In the interim the onus is ours to contribute positively to make driving safer and enjoyable for all road users. This is achievable by adopting a defensive approach to driving rather than being aggressive and applying the 3Cs when driving.
First C – Concentration
All drivers should take their task seriously. They should assume responsibility not only for their own safety but also for that of other road users, including cyclists and pedestrians. They should be acutely conscious of this duty and concentrate fully on the job—from the moment they start the engine until they switch it off. Any lapse in concentration, even for a split second at a critical moment, could mean the difference between life and death.
Use of mobile devices should be strictly avoided when driving. Your life or that of someone else is not hanging at the end of a mobile device for you to answer a call as a priority while driving. Let someone else answer it; you can always call back, or if urgent, pull over to the kerb, press on the hazard warning of your vehicle and answer the call.
There should be no lapse in concentration when driving; it should be sustained throughout the journey—no matter how clear the road may seem or how competent and experienced you are—because unexpected circumstances that could lead to an accident can arise at any moment. If your concentration is sustained, you will be able to react swiftly and appropriately, preventing accidents that might otherwise occur. Anticipation and prevention are the cornerstones of road safety, and both depend primarily on sustained concentration.
Second C – Consideration
To varying degrees, we all possess some inherent selfishness that can make us behave as if the road solely belongs to us. However, a good driver will be acutely conscious that the road belongs to all alike and respects the needs of other road users. Such a considerate approach to driving will make you slow down, stop, and park responsibly. This will help reduce traffic jams, ensure a smooth flow of traffic on congested roads and bring a smile to other road users. It will also give you a sense of satisfaction when you reflect on the good you have done. From a broader perspective, these simple acts of consideration can help ease the stress of driving and avoid road rage.
Here is a basic example: while driving, you observe a motorist coming from the opposite direction who has stopped until traffic clears on your side, allowing him to turn into a side road. If your anticipation and observational skills are sharp, you need only slow down momentarily and signal him to cross—without even stopping your vehicle. Alternatively, you could stop for a few seconds and allow him to pass. Another option is to accelerate—provided there are no vehicles closely behind you—so that he has sufficient time to cross before the next vehicle reaches the point of obstruction.
The precise option—to stop, slow down or accelerate—will be determined by the quality of your own mind and intuitive judgement. It stems essentially from a swift mental analysis of the distance between your vehicle and his, as well as the vehicle behind yours, the congestion behind you (as judged from the rearview mirror) and the speed of your vehicle. Whatever the modality, the thought of allowing him to turn across is a reflection of consideration cultured among good drivers.
In this particular example it will bring relief not only to the driver of the turning vehicle but also to so many others whose flow has been blocked by just one driver. The building up of stress, anger, sound pollution by the tooting of horns, and the consequent enhancement of the anxiety, impatience, and restlessness of the driver waiting to turn can all be prevented by a simple gesture of kindness on your part if you had cultivated this quality of consideration.
Such a gesture that brings enormous benefits to others would not have cost you anything, nor would it have contributed to a delay in your journey even if you were running late for an event. The happiness you would have experienced by one such act of consideration is profound, and you will be searching for more opportunities to do so. Besides, your act of consideration will motivate in an imperceptible way the one who benefitted, who will do the same for others, having learnt and benefitted from your act. Additionally, the karmic benefits of your wholesome deed will benefit you as well, as invariably total strangers will stop their own vehicles for you to move on when you encounter a similar situation.
This is only one example. Consideration at all times and recognising the needs of others while driving, parking, opening a car door, approaching traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, etc. will go a long way in preventing accidents, easing congestion, and reducing stress. The beneficial impact of a single act of consideration is not confined to one road user who derived the direct benefit but will have ramifications of far-reaching benefits to many, including you.
Third C – Courtesy
Courteous drivers will make it a point to acknowledge a good gesture done by other road users. This may be in assisting to park, reverse, and facilitate overtaking a slow vehicle by giving room when it is safe and signalling to do so. A smile, waving the hand or a gentle toot of the horn are ways of acknowledgement selected as appropriate to the situation and deemed safe.
Such simple gestures serve to deal with impatience, irritability, anger, and rash, risky manoeuvres, apart from bringing immense happiness to you and others.
Additionally, it will serve to soften your own heart and nurture within you the divine qualities of Metta (compassion), Karuna (kindness), Muditha (altruistic joy) and Upekka (equanimity). Consider driving as an opportunity given to you to practise courtesy consistently, and in the process develop these good qualities without devoting any additional time or place to do so. The road is the place for those who have a positive outlook to do good for oneself and others.
In conclusion, it is an earnest request for all road users to apply the 3Cs while driving. Do it consistently and mindfully. Practice will make it habitual, and you will be able to do so with effortless ease all the time. In doing so you will contribute positively to preventing road accidents, traffic jams and stress and will bring a lot of happiness to others, apart from savouring the overwhelming joy yourself, which would make the day a better one for you and others.
So remember and apply mindfully all the time when driving the 3 Cs: concentration, consideration, and courtesy.