Friday 25 June 2010

Sam's New Car

Sam is an 18 year-old young man who lives in one of the finest suburbs in Melbourne. His father is a wealthy businessman and he bought him a brand-new car.

Sam was allowed to get a license after passing a driving test. His father always talked to him about safe driving and he paid for Sam to get driving lessons.

Before Sam started driving his car, his father gave him some advice. He told Sam not to drive fast and watch out for changing traffic conditions. He also wrote a list of things that Sam had to be careful about. These things included the following:

- Always carry your license with you when you drive.

- Put your seatbelt on when you drive your car. You can have a fine if you don’t have your seatbelt on.

- Don’t drive when you are very tired or sleepy. This can make you lose control of your car and end up having a crash.

- Don’t tailgate (drive too close to the car in front). Leave a distance between your car and the one in front of you. If the driver in the other car slams on his breaks hard, you will have enough time to stop your car and avoid having an accident.

- If you have a bus or a truck in front of you, leave a distance and be careful when you change lanes.

- Be mindful of other people. Stop your car when pedestrians start to cross the road.

- There are radars to force people to follow the speed rules. You can pay a lot of money in fines if you drive over the speed limit.

- Don’t take part in a drag race. Don’t let any of your friends challenge you to drive fast. There is a big chance that you will end up having a crash for a stupid reason.

- Pay extra attention when you reverse your car. It is not easy to see what is behind and you can hit a pedestrian or another car that is behind you.

- NEVER drive when you are under the influence of alcohol. Don't be in the same car with someone who is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This can be fatal. You can lose your life because of alcohol or drugs.

- If you have a car accident, stop and offer help to anyone hurt. Don’t leave the scene if there is anyone hurt. Call an ambulance if you think you need to. Give your license details to the other person and take his or her details to give to your insurance company.

- Remember not to leave your car keys inside the car when you lock the doors.

- If you feel unsafe inside your car, lock the doors and if there is anyone shouting at you, don’t answer the person back and avoid eye contact with him or her. Keep your mobile phone handy in case you need to call the police.

- Don’t use your mobile while driving. This will distract you. The person calling can always leave a message and you can check the message later on.

- Keep your car always clean. Don’t treat it as a rubbish bin. I’ve paid a lot of money for it. I don’t have a money printing machine at home so you can waste a lot of money. Have mercy for your old man.

- Always have car insurance. You will never know what is going to happen. A car insurance will give you peace of mind.

- Don’t allow people to smoke in your car. It will make the smell bad inside and it will not also be clean.