Christian Marc Benosa CE122-2_A74

2020151802 11/26/21

Assessment 3
The road can be beneficial for us people as it considered to be a pathway for use to go to work or

travel from one place to another. But did you know it has cause more deaths than HIV. It has been

recorded that over 1.3 million people die on the roads and over 50 million injured due to accidents. The

main cause of the deaths is road traffic crashes, and this kind of accident occur in all different age group.

It is sad to say that the risk of dying in road crash are three times higher in those low income countries.

We know that accidents can’t be controlled or predicted but to lower the risk of accident being occurred,

there should be disciplined and right characteristics in the road by everyone regardless if he is a driver, a

pedestrian or a commuter. A right way to reduce the possibility is to be aware on how you handle yourself

when on the road.

A person’s behaviors on the road can lead to life or death situation. The first people who are at

the great risk and the same time responsible for any occurrences in the road are the drivers. Drivers are

the one controlling the streets as they are the one maneuvering the transportation or vehicle. Without

them, what’s the purpose of big highways and vehicles. That is why drivers play a significant role in

transportation. The key characteristics they need to have are patience, defensive and visual prowess.

There are also other characteristics needed for a driver to apply such as hearing and proper knowledge,

but these three are the most vital. Patience is essential to a driver because not all the time you get what

you want like all of us are in rush and all at the same time is in car. So respect each other space and time

we all have many things to do but in the road there are people who has the same situation as you. So, with

that be patience when it comes to the road as rushing can just lead to more problems. Second is being

defensive in the road, having to response to any type of situation quickly. We know as a fact we can’t

control anybody decision whether it is personal or on the road. A driver has a complete control on the

vehicle and we will never tell on what other drivers would do. So the great thing to do is to adjust to every

situation in the environment. Have the sense of acceptance on what actions would drive the other drivers
to do. Adjust to your situation for the best of everyone even if the other drivers are stubborn or clearly a

offensive driver. Back off and focus on the road. And this leads to the last characteristics that for me is

essential, which is visual prowess. Having eyes on the prize is the same as having eyes on the road

because it focuses on the same goal which is in this case the prize to drive to your destination safely.

Being good in visual enables you to respond quickly on any situation in the road and at the same time

avoid and follow the regulation in the road. A driver with poor visuals can lead to a risk for everyone.

Their reaction time would be slower and the risk of hitting a pedestrian is high especially in the

Philippines.

The characteristics that a pedestrian should inherit is the value of being aware. Being aware on

your surrounding can avoid you from getting into an accident. For me, awareness is essential to a

pedestrian as it will affect your reaction time on the road. Also, having to be aware on the regulations and

rules can help lower the risk of accident. For example, knowing when to cross and when not too is vital as

every driver would also follow the rules. So if ever you walk in a green light, there is a tendency the

reaction time of the driver will be slow because he is more focus on following the traffic lights than

watching the road. Of course, there is a reason for having traffic lights which is to guide every vehicle and

every pedestrian on when to go and stop. Without awareness, it could lead to risks for both the vehicles

and the pedestrian. With this, the value of being aware is crucial for the people on the street because the

value brings the comfort of safety to all of them and confident on the transportation system being in

placed.

Lastly, the vehicles are the main reason for the roads, highways and bridges. They are the main

source of transportation as without them we can’t travel form one destination to another. The

characteristics of vehicles should be mainly focused on the design of it. The right regulation should be

meet to the standards and be safe for use. The characteristics of the vehicle should include its safety

feature such as braking system, and vehicle maneuverability. These two shouldn’t be disregarded as it

ensures the safety of the people using the vehicle. The safety feature should be tested before use, this due
to having the safety feature as a safety net when accidents would occur. This includes having to ensure

the brakes are working properly and also airbags. The purpose of it is to lower the risk of death at the

same time give a sense of comfort for all the riders on board. The vehicle maneuverability is also

important as the driver is the one controlling the vehicle so there should be an assurance that the driver

have the overall control over the vehicle.

In today’s world, we are now able to explore more because of transportation. Transportation

brought us to a new era of opportunities and innovation but it also brought us to tragic occurrences. Every

day, mostly going outside to commute or drive is a risk for everyone as we can’t predict what the future

holds. Getting into an accident is one thing that we have no control of but one thing is for sure is we could

lessen the risk by the means of disciplining ourselves with those characteristics. Whether, you are a

driver, pedestrian or the car manufacturer, every individual has a responsibility when it comes to the road

use. With that, every role has purpose to fulfill and it’s our duty to comply with it.
References:

Richardson, E., & Mackintosh, I. L. (1981). Vehicle characteristics - effect on traffic design. Trid.trb.org.

https://trid.trb.org/view/1206291?fbclid=IwAR0hvraJwYwK_JKW5ErUCQwZlU5vWpYZwQu4

osi6I7LtNo2JglFJGENlsEU#:~:text=Some%20characteristics%20of%20vehicles%20as

Road User Characteristics in Traffic Engineering. (2019, July 13). The Constructor.

https://theconstructor.org/transportation/road-user-characteristics-traffic-

engineering/34936/?fbclid=IwAR1ThxJYm1BWC8jooYwA-HlWq1xH41ZONXPtWtQF8q-

kf8hbeAYRdL0Vl_U

World Health Organization: WHO. (2018, December 17). Road safety. Who.int; World Health

Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/road-safety