Safe driving with Polo

Participants at the practical driving session

“Choose life!” advised instructor Adian Yein to the 140 participants, who attended driving safety lessons at the Volkswagen Polo P Project, co-organised by UTAR Crime Prevention Society and Driven Communications Sdn Bhd, from 28 to 29 October 2017 at the Kampar Campus.

For the event was a joint effort by the Crime Prevention Society, under their Safety Campaign, to promote safe driving to the fellow UTARians, the objective of the project was also to nurture youths with the right attitude and behaviour on driving safely. The participants enjoyed and benefitted a lot from the classroom theory session, demonstration of the right driving seating position, slalom activity, anti-lock braking system (ABS) test, braking avoidance and other side activities.

“It is important to nurture young people, especially from a young age to drive safely. Facts have also proven that youths below the age of 25 years old are at the biggest risks of getting into an accident, with some cases involving serious injuries or death,” said Yein.

The two-day event was separated into two sessions per day, with each session accommodating a maximum capacity of 25 participants, and it started off with the classroom theory session.

“Before you start your journey, it is important to always check the condition of your car. You may walk around and check under the car to ensure there is no leakage, check the tyre pressure, and secure any loose objects. When in the car, always check your seating position, mirrors and ensure that there is enough fuel in your car for travelling,” advised Yein.

Under the topic “Driving Seating Position”, Yein taught the participants how to ensure the right seating position; The driver’s height from the car roof should be four to five-fingers gap away; Seated in an upright angle; And a comfortable distance from the steering wheel that would enable the driver’s wrist to be rested on the steering wheel when their hands are stretched out.

Yein also advised the participants to drive at a slower speed because reports have shown that cars driven at high speed have higher impact speed, which leads to more severe injuries. To stress on that point, he mentioned that drivers in a car speed of 80km/h are 20 times more likely to die in a car accident.

One of the highlights of the classroom session was the lesson on the types of distractions that could seriously cause an accident, such as making phone calls, sending or reading a text, changing radio channel, adjusting satellite navigations, eating or drinking, children or pets not strapped properly in the car, chatting, arguing, and joking around.

“Most importantly, do not ever drink and drive, because alcohol slows reaction time, impairs vision, creates overconfidence and impairs judgement. Be reminded also that after two cups of alcohol, you double the risks of getting into an accident, so when you drink five cups of alcohol, the risk of getting into accident increases to five times,” advised the instructor.

Before the end of the classroom session, Yein also shared the dos and don’ts when driving, and advised the participants to use the three-second rule to keep a safe distance from the car in front, ease off the accelerator, brake firmly and do not panic during an emergency situation.

The slalom and obstacle avoidance with braking activities were conducted during the practical driving session, using two Volkswagen Polos and had three participants per car for the activity.

Through the obstacle avoidance braking activity, participants were able to learn how to make full use of the vehicle’s ABS and experienced the stability of ABS during a high-speed lane change, whereas the slalom taught participants the handling dynamics of the car.

“I really enjoyed the lessons, because not only was I able to test-drive the Polo, but the classroom and practical sessions were really enlightening. After my accident caused by the brake failures, I was afraid to press hard on the brakes, worrying that it might not function again, but the lessons have helped me overcome this fear and I now know that emergency braking is really important,” said the Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) Psychology student Lushalinee a/p Murthy.

Yein explaining to participants about oversteering 

Yein explaining about driving seating position 

The slalom (right) and obstacle avoidance with brake course 

Participants taking turns to experience the slalom course 

 Participants learning to change the tyres