Drive safely to your holiday destination

After months of sanitary regime, drivers have hit the road. Holiday season also favours this trend and so does the willingness to spend some time away from home. What is the fastest way to reach your holiday destination? Using a motorway or an expressway. Remember that travelling on this type of roads requires special skills from a driver. Higher speed, monotonous driving or recklessness are the biggest enemies of safe driving.

Keep the distance and adjust speed

According to police statistics, every fifth accident or collision on the motorway is caused by a failure to keep a safe distance. When driving too close to the vehicle in front of us, we risk collision in the event of its unexpected braking. It also happens that during overtaking the vehicle, when we are driving too close, we may come into conflict with the overtaken vehicle. 

Half of accidents or collisions on the motorway could have been avoided, had drivers followed several basic principles.  In order not to pose a risk for others you should keep a safe distance.  If we are driving too close, and, for example, a bike falls off the car roof rack ahead of us, then we have no chance to avoid such danger.  It also happens that a truck loses a piece of tyre. When we keep a safe distance we can easily deal with such obstacle on the road. If we are driving too close, a disaster can happen – said Renata Rychlewska, Autostrada Eksploatacja SA spokesperson.

How to determine the right distance while driving? A so called “3 seconds” rule can be applied. It helps to determine the minimum distance from the vehicle in front of us. Select any object along the way, for example a road sign, which is next to the vehicle driving ahead. If you pass that road sign after approx. 3 seconds, it means that you are keeping a distance that will ensure safety and a possibility to react in case of sudden and unexpected braking by the vehicle in front of you.

In Poland, to date, there are no regulations that would clearly specify what distance between vehicles is considered safe. Safe distance is a distance that will allow relaxed deceleration of our vehicle and avoiding a collision. Of course, we must also pay attention to weather conditions, the condition of the pavement and technical condition of the car in which we are travelling, that is why it is good to add an additional time margin. Only then can we feel safe on the road – explained Assistant Police Commissioner Marcin Sawicki from the Traffic Department of the Regional Police Headquarters in Poznań.

Plan safe rest

Among causes of accidents, apart from recklessness, experts also mention lack of concentration and fatigue. Driving on a motorway is often tedious. We are travelling on a straight road for many kilometres, with no need to stop or change the speed. This results in the fact that, firstly, we accelerate, and, secondly, we become interested in other things, e.g. we check game results, talk on the phone, eat. One second of inattention is enough for a disaster to happen.

Along the motorway there are Rest and Service Areas (so called MOPs from Polish Miejsca Obsługi Podróżnych). They were created for drivers, so that they have a place to stop safely, have a coffee, refresh and get some rest before continuing the journey. They are worth using for your own safety and for the safety of your travel companions – said Anna Ciamciak, Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. spokesperson.

Many of the 22 MOPs located along the A2 section covered by the concession offer playgrounds and restaurants. It is important to remember that, especially when you plan travelling with children, who get bored in a car rather quickly.

Restrooms at MOPs are cleaned on an ongoing basis using strong detergents and periodically disinfected by a specialised cleaning company. Also on children’s playgrounds, opened on 1 July, the staff will disinfect all surfaces that are touched (mainly rails).

Remember

• Stopping on the motorway is only allowed on designated parking areas
• Along the motorway, also at Toll Plazas and Toll Stations, driving in reverse is not allowed.

• In the event of vehicle breakdown, stop the car on the emergency lane, put a triangle 100 meters away from the vehicle, turn the hazard lights on and immediately walk outside of the safety barriers or as far away as possible towards the green areas.
• You may use the nearest roadside emergency phone to call for help. Roadside emergency phones are located within the distance of 2 km from one another. To notify the Operator’s staff about a problem just press the red button. The computer system will trace the call and assistance will follow immediately. You may also report a breakdown from a mobile phone by calling the number +48 61 83 83 112.
• Maximum permitted speed on the motorway is 140 km/h for passenger cars and 80 km/h for trucks (of total laden mass exceeding 3.5 tons).

For more information included in Driver's ABC manual visit Autostrada Wielkopolska website at http://a2.codocaine.com/abc