OF THOSE WHO CAN DRIVE AND THOSE WHO ARE DRIVERS

OF THOSE WHO CAN DRIVE AND THOSE WHO ARE DRIVERS  by Sanmi Adekola

Oftentimes, when I screened people for driving, I found myself using the phrase you can drive but you are not a driver, and I'm usually pained by the look of bewildered from my audience. The truth is many can drive but very few are drivers and of the few are professional drivers. 

Driving comes with expertise. From experience and research, over 70% of Nigeria 'vehicles movers', note my expression please- vehicles movers' didn't go through driving schools, and of the few who went, they were taught by rules of thumbs. No systematized approach to training. 

This puts you and me at risk, or at best you are part of the risk I should avoid on the road. Laughs! 

The question is what are basic different traits that differentiate those who can drive from those who are drivers, leaving professional drivers out for now? 

1. Many Nigerians who lay claims to driving don't know basic road signs, and it's not about age now or education. I've seen stark illiterate able to tell me what some signs mean in the native language, and I've seen University graduates fumbling at a simple interview on road signs. My colleagues and I have had cause to send graduates out from screening sessions even though we know they could drive, but they're not drivers. Many applications have just been thrashed into refuse bins. Some simply classified as 'unsuitable'. 

You know the funny things about it, many of them started driving many years before I know how to turn on the ignition. 

For those of you who dragged roads with commercial and truck drivers, I pity your lives, as you are just a step close to heaven or hell depending on how you live your past life before the time the unfortunate can happen. These guys know little to nothing about road signs. 

2. Secondly, a good number of those who can drive but who are not drivers are confrontational in their driving. They struggled with you on the road. They want to occupy every space ahead of them. You know the words: they drive bumper to bumper. 

I know some people can be tortoise on the wheels, but the fact is many Lagosians drivers, perhaps, Nigerian drivers are impatient on the roads, and such impatient have made many people to become patients in the hospitals. Some are now guests in graveyards. 

Some few weeks ago, I know a motorcycle rider who incurred a debt of eighty thousand nairas just because he was impatient for one minute, and I've seen people sweating and shouting profusely with suits and ties for several hours just because they refused to exercise patience. You might have seen some too, or perhaps, you were once a victim.

3. Thirdly, a good driver is observational, but a sizeable number of 'vehicles movers' in Nigeria are not.   Within and outside the vehicle you drive, there are messages to be decoded. When I tell drivers that vehicles talk, some looks at me with amusement. And the truth is vehicles talk. Have you seen people having to be told that their vehicles is 'doing overheating' (the right expression is your vehicle is overheating) in traffic, and yet they were unaware? Have you wondered why many Lagosians drivers hardly wait for pedestrians to cross even at zebras even though I understand some pedestrians can be a menace on the roads too? 

Yeah, many at times you can't but wonder why a pedestrian who refused to cross the road when the traffic light was in red but decided to cross when it turned green. Have you? Me, I've several. Be that as it may, it doesn't exonerate these poor drivers. 

4. The fourth category of those who can drive but who are not drivers and is the last I will be discussing today are those who lack concentration. It is good to be observant, but excessive observation while driving like excess wine intoxicates and kills. Have you boarded a vehicle before and the driver could dance and sing for Africa? They not only know the title of the songs, they can also sing the lyrics from start to end, be it: Ebenezer Obey: 'Alowomajaye'; Wasiu Ayinde - THanksgiving, King Sunny Ade - Oro Towo Baseti, Barry's Reality;  and or latest genres like Eleda mi by Olamide, Sade by Adekunle Gold, Tesumole by Naira Marley, or Davido's 'If' or Aye, just name it.

Sometimes, it is call making. At other times, it is excessive engagement in discussion with co-travelers.  Some have taken their poor concentration habit to a greater level, they can look anything look able, from the configuration of passerby ladies or guys to other things on the road. Have you wondered why there is always traffic on the road when there is a breakdown of vehicles or accidents? It is because other motorists pay excessive attention to looking at the scenes. 

At Driveria, we are on a mission to change these narratives. We know it's a Herculean Task, but we're poised to make an impact. Hence, we are building a new crop of drivers through training and retraining of drivers. Perhaps, you want to learn how to drive, it's also the best place to be. Maybe you have an array of drivers too, you can call us for their training and retraining too. Or you need a driver who will not give sleepless nights, we are there always to help out.

Visit us today at: www.driveria.com.ng or call 08186090997 for further details.