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DISASTER DUMMY

Forty year-old Julie, behind the wheel of her small, red Toyota, was glad when she reached the outskirts of town. She loathed heavy traffic, but had no choice driving to work and back every day. In ten more minutes she and her one-year old toddler Tony, strapped in his child seat in the back, would be home.

 

It had been one of those Fridays at work, trying to please fastidious customers as well as a demanding boss. The heavy workload was too much for one person. Julie was tired.

 

As if there was not enough stress already, when Julie had picked up her only child from the crèche, she learned that the scratches on his face were inflicted by the crèche bully. The staff had been very apologetic. but it was too late before they realized what was happening. 

 

Increasing the speed of her late model Toyota, to match the 80 km/h limit, Julie could not wait to arrive home that evening. Her husband had urged her not to be late. He had arranged a babysitter, and the two would be dining with an important business client and his wife.

 

Just the thought of running late made her increase the speed another 5 km/h. She didn't regard this as breaking the speed limit. Her humorous husband jokingly gave this bad habit a name - creative driving.

 

Her precious bundle in the back was a little more restless than usual. He sensed that his mother was rushing. He sucked more heavily on his dummy; but it fell out of his mouth again, for the umpteenth time. The stinging pain on Tony's rosy, baby cheek made matters even worse. He started to cry.

 

There was one thing Julie hated more than anything. Ever since Tony was born she could not stand her child crying. It upset her, perhaps more than normal mothers. Once again, Tony, without his dummy made this terrible, shrieking sound. It had to stop. 

 

Almost mechanically, as she had done many times, Julie with her left hand reached over the back of her seat and shoved the dummy back into Tony's little mouth. Unfortunately, that evening Tony's dummy spit changed their lives forever, ending in disaster.

 

Eighteen-year old Tom was likewise glad it was Friday. He looked forward to see his family and girlfriend for the weekend as he drove his newly acquired Nissan Sedan back from the city university, where he was studying politics and journalism. It was only the second time that he was driving his car, his first ever, home for the weekend.

 

Tom was cruising just under the 80 km/h speed limit, always careful to never go over it. His driving record since obtaining his licence was untarnished. His ambition was to one day become a politician. A clean driving record would look good in any future character reference.

 

The conditions of the roadway was dry. It was  still very much daylight, the weather was fine and there were no other vehicles within 1/2 kilometer. So why did Julie and Tom meet with a major disaster seconds later?

 

Tom was only slightly alarmed when he noticed a small vehicle drifting slightly off to the side of the road. It looked as if it was going to stop ..., but at such a high speed? As the car hit the unsealed section of the roadway a cloud of dust flew into the air.

A second later, to his horror, Tom realized the car was not stopping. It emerged from the dust cloud and was now skidding straight onto his side of the road. There was no time to think or analyze what to do. He instinctively hit his brakes sharply. But this made little difference. The damage and injury caused by the head-on collision was horrific.

 

Why did Julie and Tom really hit head-on?

Julie had not only made the mistake of her life, doing other things while driving. (Road Safety experts call it negligent driving.)  She also failed to respond correctly. 

 

So what could Julie have done? Before answering this question let's relive those final few moments before impact:

As Julie was tending to her baby, during those few seconds the road noise changed. Stones and dirt were hitting her car. She flung her head around in a flash and realized that her car had hit the gravel.

 

Instinctively, Julie yanked the steering wheel right to get herself back onto the bitumen. Simultaneously, in her  panic, she braked sharply.  

 

Both of these actions were wrong. The sudden move on the steering wheel, plus only two tyres gaining a grip on the roadway caused  the sudden change in direction. Her Toyota shot straight onto the wrong side of the road colliding with Tom's Nissan.

 

When I was still working as instructor, I taught my students what to do in just such a scenario. Where possible, we also practiced it (at Sampson Flat, near Adelaide.)  My students found it a little hair-raising, but were surprised at the end, how easy it was to get back on the bitumen with both, people and vehicle, unharmed.

 

To recover from her predicament Julie should simply have eased off the accelerator, and with both hands firmly holding the steering wheel*, she should have very gently steered her vehicle back onto the bitumen! Easy! 

 

Tyres are designed to drive on gravel roads, even at high speed. It was the panic, the overreaction to the situation, which resulted in this totally avoidable crash. 

 

*A firm grip on the steering wheel is necessary, in case of an uneven surface or potholes. A ditch or pothole could cause the vehicle to change direction dramatically, unless the driver keeps control of the steering! 

 

Verdict: Drifting into the gravel does not yet spell disaster.  Overcorrecting on the steering wheel or brake could have far more  serious consequences.

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About the author:

Dieter Fischer, a German born Australian, taught thousands of people to drive during his almost 30-year career. He was a pioneer in online road safety, establishing his first website in 1998. He and his wife were married in 1971. They have four grown-up children and live in Adelaide, South Australia.

      Road Rules on this site may vary in your part of the world. We urge new drivers to undertake on-road lessons with a professional driving instructor.

Site by Dieter Fischer, Revised  2020.