When the topic of congested cities is brought up here in
Nigeria, the first city that comes to mind is Lagos. Up North
we have densely populated cities like Kano and Kaduna with
their peculiar traffic issues, while in the Niger Delta region we
have cities like Port-harcourt, Uyo and Calabar where
activities in those areas are centralized around the major
cities.
With this reality before vehicle owners and commuters, it
means at one point or the other, they will have to deal with
road traffic problems due to prevailing conditions. Asides the
normal difficulties associated with owning and driving a car,
vehicle owners are bound to contend with the nature of roads
and traffic in their areas; as well as the kinds of people within,
security stance and the general level of adherence to road
laws.
Driving ideally should be fun and cars are made for
convenience in the first place, however for this to truly be the case inspite of prevailing conditions, you need to adopt certain methods and digest some quick facts on how to make driving pleasurable no matter the condition. Below are a few of these facts and methods for you to take full advantage of in enjoying every moment behind the wheel.

Select the right Car: as a city dweller you need to first
consider the type of car to own in the first instance. Today we have a wide range of city cars like Toyota Yaris, Nissan
Sunny, Honda Civic, etc; all of which have high mpg (miles
per gallon) ratings-meaning these vehicles consume less fuel
when used within cities. Also cars with low–end torque are
favourable for city driving. Hence in choosing the car to buy
evaluate your decision and have in mind features of your
intended buy that appeal to city driving.

Maintain low stress levels: driving induced stress and
stressors are for real; driving stress can produce many
different emotions and physical effects, which means for you
to avoid such, you have to be proactive! It all begins with first identifying factors that develop stress in your specific case and figuring how to effectively manage such. A simple cause of driving stress might be sun-rays penetrating your car’s wind-screen and affecting your eyes; in such a situation
installing sun-visors or driving with sun shades during
afternoon periods might be the simple solution. But in more
general cases, ways to avoid driving stress are as follows:
maintaining great car interior, using air-conditioners during
intense weather, planning your trips ahead, playing your
preferred music to stay active and practicing safe driving.

Stay alert and focused: One of the popular factors behind the
high rates of road accidents is the ‘human factor’. If for any
reason like being drunk or extremely tired, desist from driving
so as not to become a problem to yourself and other road
users. Staying alert increases your thinking time behind the
wheel and also being sensitive means you quickly observe
happenings around you while driving and respond
accordingly.

Be security conscious: there have been countless cases of
robbery in progress in the midst of heated up traffic. These
criminals largely operate in ‘stealth mode’ so as not to attract
too much attention. Most of these men are deterred by wound-up glasses and locked doors, which means you need to protect yourself especially at night and avoid buying things from
hawkers at these times-because this might even be an avenue
of entry or robbery. In a nutshell, don’t be assuming and
avoid robbery prone spots within your city as much as you
can. Extend your security consciousness to where you park
your vehicle as well, car washing service centers you
patronize and even the kinds of mechanics you entrust your
car with.

Know your routes and peak traffic periods: stress free
driving is hinged on proper timing and adept
understanding of the routes you normally ply. Rather than
ply the popular express, there might be some unbelievable
alternative routes which can enable you to get around
more easily. Understanding your daily route for instance
means you know areas to avoid during peak traffic
periods; this helps you come up with a possible way of
evading such. But however, whenever there are no
alternative routes, the best you can do is to sensibly
alternate your mood to suit the traffic situation before you.

Drive smartly and sensibly: moving your vehicle from one
spot to another is hardly a sport or some sort of competition;
even if it were, you win some and you lose some. Getting on
the road with the mind frame that other road users are ‘the
enemy’ isn’t the healthy way to go. Instead drive smartly; like in traffic jams you don’t have to get too close to the bumper
in front of you, don’t ‘over-raise’ your car and speedily wear
your clutch disc/pressure plate (for manual gearboxes) or
overheat your automatic gearbox. Drive as safely as possible
rather than upholding conventional ‘danfo’ driving as your
benchmark.

Maintain your car accordingly: a poorly maintained car can
lead to many problems for you. On a basic level, a poorly
maintained car is a security risk because one can’t predict
when and where such will eventually breakdown. One
attribute of congested cities are varieties of car mechanics and
automobile service providers; be wise enough to employ the
services of a good one to avoid added or totally avoidable car
issues to you as an owner.
www.autobaseafrica.com/surviving-congested-city-driving/