Safe Driving, Hazard Awareness and Emergencies
Space, sight and speed
The core habit is the two-second rule: pick a fixed point and ensure at least two seconds pass between the car ahead reaching it and you. Double it to four seconds in rain, at night or when following a heavy vehicle. Always drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance you can see to be clear - that is the real speed limit, whatever the sign says.
Observation routine
Use mirror–signal–manoeuvre for every change of direction, and keep scanning far ahead rather than staring at the car in front. Expect the unexpected: a child running out, a pedestrian between parked cars, an okada rider weaving, a pothole, livestock on the road, or a flooded stretch after heavy rain. In harmattan dust, slow down, use dipped headlights and increase your following gap.
Driver condition
Fatigue, alcohol, drugs and mobile phone use all lengthen reaction time. Stop and rest if you feel drowsy; no phone call is worth a crash.
Emergencies
If a tyre bursts, grip the wheel firmly, ease off the accelerator and let the car slow before braking gently. If brakes fail, pump them, change down through the gears, use the handbrake gradually and look for an escape route. For a skid, ease off and steer in the direction you want the front of the car to go. After a breakdown, get everyone away from the carriageway, switch on hazard lights and place a warning triangle behind the vehicle.
Rule of thumb: when in doubt, slow down and create space.