Everyday Occurrences that can Spell Disaster on the Roads

For safer driving, bees and sneezes are just some innocuous things to watch out for behind the wheel. Many accidents happen in everyday situations at home, in the kitchen or stepping out of the shower.

And it’s the same on the road - some of the worst car crashes come down to otherwise innocent circumstances or events.

Uninvited bugs

Behind the wheel, an uninvited insect can cause chaos as you struggle to remove it, distracting you from the road. And it can happen to anyone. Comic actor Seth Rogen once suffered from such a distraction, telling The Times of London “I was driving in Los Angeles and a bee flew into my car. What did I do? I freaked out and crashed into the car in front of me.”

Closer to home, other insects can wreak havoc on road safety. In 2018 a Singaporean woman crashed violently into an overhead bridge. The culprit: a cockroach in her vehicle that (not surprisingly) caused her to panic. And unfortunately, it’s a common occurrence. A Singaporean branch of pest control noted that up to 10% of its call-outs were due to roaches in cars. Some drivers in the region hang pandan leaves in the cabin of their vehicles, which many believe deter cockroaches. But experts say a better tack is preventing food debris: in short, not eating on the road. After all, eating while driving means you’re less focused on the traffic around you.

If you can’t defer your distracting snacking habit, you may want to drive a car that can preemptively react to situations surrounding a potential car crash. For instance, Subaru’s EyeSight Pre-Collision Braking uses two cameras that can sense if you’re in danger of running into an object or a car. Before a potential collision, the system will issue a visual and audio alert to warn you, and automatically engage the brakes to bring the car to a full stop if necessary.

Sudden sneezes

Can you guess what’s the dirtiest place in your car? In hot and humid Asia, it’s a feature you probably use every day: the air-conditioning. Many drivers rarely clean these vents, leading to a buildup of dust and germs.

And where there’s dust a sneeze is likely to follow, which in itself can distract you from the road for crucial seconds. If a sneeze causes your eyes to close for only one second and you’re traveling at 96 km/h, you will have covered about 26.6 meters with your eyes closed, which is a worrying thought.

The problem, of course, is that you can’t always predict random distractions like this. But if you’re on the highway, enabling Subaru’s EyeSight Adaptive Cruise Control can help minimize risk when an interfering yawn or sneeze suddenly strikes. Subaru‘s EyeSight Adaptive Cruise Control allows drivers to maintain a constant safe distance from the car in front of them. Just choose one of the pre-selected follow distances and the system will automatically regulate your speed in order to maintain that distance. If the car in front of you slows to a stop, your Subaru will adjust its speed and come to a gradual stop behind it. When you and the car in front of you resume acceleration, your car will accelerate accordingly until it reaches the preset cruise-control speed, while maintaining a safe distance to the vehicle in front, and continues on as before.

Subaru’s EyeSight Adaptive Cruise Control can minimize risk when a yawn or sneeze suddenly strikes.

Celebrating safely

Festival periods can see a spike in road traffic accidents. During the 2020 Lunar New Year Festival weekend, for example, 40 people died and 80 were injured on Cambodia’s roads. The country’s director of the Institute of Road Safety raised the issue with the press, noting that on festival weekends car accidents can double. That’s when it’s especially reassuring to know the car you’re driving is literally looking out for your safety.

Subaru EyeSight Driver Assist Technology does everything from monitor traffic movement to help you adapt your speed safely to the cars around you, to warn you if you start to sway outside your lane, to help you avoid a frontal collision - or minimize its impact - by applying the full force of your Subaru’s braking system if necessary, in less time than it takes for you to sneeze.

Sometimes even the best drivers need a little extra help to keep them safe. After all, you can’t predict everything that's going to happen on the road. But you can drive a car that has the safety features to minimize potential dangers.

And that’s nothing to sneeze at.