Dust storms are frequent in Australia, during the long Aussie summer months. Only recently, the country has seen dust storms sweeping across the areas with razing bush fires, making lives of those fighting the flames even more difficult.
So what to do, when you are caught in one of those obnoxious dust storms while you are at the wheels, driving? Surely, there is a lot to be done and every reputed driving school in Caulfield like any other place has a list of MUST-FOLLOW instructions during the dust storms. We at Academy Of Driving Excellence do the same.
Do not Try out Testing your Driving Prowess if you have Dust Storm Warning
This is the first in the list of instructions that a driving school will have for its trainees. Avoid venturing out at all if you have a warning of dust storm from the local Met Office. They can be dangerous, more so if you have just got the driving licence.
Get Your Vehicle Off the Road Without a Second Thought
At the very first sight of an approaching dust storm, you must get your vehicle off the road immediately, Do not wait for the storm to catch you and the visibility to get poor, making it difficult for you to pull off the road safely. Do it immediately. When doing so, make sure you get off as far as the road to avert being hit by any other vehicle.
Do Not Stop on the Travel Lane – Even if It is a Service Road
Do not dare to stop on or anywhere near the travel lane. Look for a place away from the paved portion of the roadway. Pulling off on the service road is dangerous as well! Stop the vehicle is such a place, which will ensure that you are at a safe distance from the other vehicles.
Turning the Lights is Must
If you have thought of keeping the taillights and the headlights on, for being picked up by other vehicles in the blinding dust, and thus you will remain safe from a collision, discard the plan, for it will do just the opposite. Other drivers will mistake your lights to be a safety indicator and consider you to be moving and will tend to follow you, not knowing you are actually static. It will misguide them to come and ram their vehicle into yours. So put off every light, including the emergency flashers while being parked.
The DO’S& DON’TS If You Have to Drive Anyway
- Even if you have to drive, the instructors of any driving school in Toorak will tell you to drive slowly, along the centre line of the road with all the lights ON…REMEMBER, YOU ARE DRIVING…NOT PARKED! So keep the LIGHTS ON!!!.
- Do not swerve to avoid tumbleweeds that are blown by the wind into the middle of the road. Run them over, for that will not cause any harm to your car. But swerving to avoid them can have disastrous consequences when the straight line you are driving along is broken in almost zero visibility.
- Keep honking the horn intermittently, to make other aware of your presence
Keep Enough Food and Water in the Car
If you have to venture out despite a sand storm warning, do so with a lot of water and food. Sandstorms generally last a handful of minutes but cause long delays on roads for obvious reasons.
So you see, these are some of the lessons by driving instructors of driving schools in St Kilda in regards to driving in sand storms. Our mentors in the Academy Of Driving Excellence would give you the same lessons during the training. For further details, call us at 0425749703 during our business hours.