Time and the driver
Published:Sunday | January 17, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Paul Messam, Gleaner Writer
To many motorists, time is what we want most, but what we use worst. "Every minute counts," advises Beverly Anderson Manley, talk show host. "Time misspent is not lived but lost."
The author was underscoring the importance of time in our daily lives. By respecting time, drivers would plan ahead. This would result in calmer, less selfish and less agitated road users.
Time is the greatest resource. Eugene Patterson, in his book Working the angles, pointed out that a day does not begin with sunrise, but it begins when we go to sleep.
If we are going to use time wisely, drivers must practise the art of prioritising.
Priority 1: Take time to rest well. "Rest heals the mind and body," Dr Hame Persaud reminds us.
Priority 2: Take time to plan the day's activities, regardless of how simple you think they are. Plan from the night before. If drivers fail to plan, they really plan to fail.
Priority 3: Take time to list the activities in order of priority and, as the day progresses, tick them off as they have been accomplished.
Priority 4: Make safe driving a priority. Do not drive for yourself alone. Drive for the others who use the busy roadways.
Priority 5: Drive with a sense of purpose. Make it a priority to observe the road code and, if you are unsure about some aspects of the road rules, take 10 minutes each day and refresh your mind by reading the facts; keep current.
Priority 6: Drivers must make it their duty to get it right the first time, every time and remember that time is money; do not waste it, use it wisely as time wasted cannot be regained.
Priority 7: Drivers who have to be on the road daily must eat a balanced meal. They must eat the correct nutrients to have their mind and body in tip-top shape. This will enable them to read the road ahead and behind, listen correctly, make correct judgements, identify potential hazards quickly, make the correct decisions and be alert, awake and fully aware of what is happening around them they travel along the roads.