Cyprus doesn’t have a great record on the road. A recent EU survey showed that it has one of the largest percentage increases in road deaths. I’m not surprised. Let’s face it, many drivers here are mavericks. They don’t wear helmets and seatbelts; they run red lights; they overtake on the inside, they don’t signal, they leave cars parked in the middle of the street and there is a small and very dextrous group who can drive with a mobile in one hand and a fag in the other. So far I have seen a prang every day I have lived in Cyprus. Makes me think it must be good business for insurance companies and car rentals.
Responsible driving has been under the spotlight in the UK with the awarding of an honorary doctorate at Oxford Brookes University to Jeremy Clarkson, the flamboyant and charismatic presenter of BBC’s Top Gear. A latter-day Mr Toad, he’s admired by his devotees for his total disregard for political correctness and his boyish enthusiasm for things that handle well and go fast. Oh yes, he loves cars. He makes no bones about the fact that he thinks environmentalists are just party-poopers. However, last week after he received his doctorate, when a so-called environmentalist hit him in the face with a banana pie, it was he who came out on top. He immediately responded with “good shot” and made the comment that he wondered how much jet fuel had been used bringing that banana to Britain. Good point, she could at least have used organic British apples.
The serious side to all of this, of course, is that the balance between having fun in cars and keeping people safe, both personally and environmentally, should not be incompatible. Last May, I went to my first ever WRC event here in Cyprus. It was great: definitely exciting. The skill of the drivers was amazing, yet last week with the death of Michael Park the co-driver of Markko Martin, once again one wonders how far sport should risk life.
Cars are dangerous toys for boys and girls. Reckless driving does ruin lives. Personally, I don’t think we can stop people from taking risks and loving the adrenalin rush of speed and the skill of handling a car fast. But I do think that the best place for this is on the racetrack and not on the road. Rally drivers know the danger they face and they choose to accept it, but I do not want to be mown down by “boy racers” on the way to Larnaca.
So, much as I enjoy the prince of petrolheads Clarkson’s celebration for the motor car, I am sure that when it comes to the safety of his own kids on the road he will hope, as we all do, that common sense and safety rule life in the fast lane.
