As a parent, guardian, elder of the family you can play an active and crucial role in your teenager’s driving lessons. Here are seven road safety tips to share with your teen to encourage them to be better, safer drivers.

1. Wear Your Safety Belt

Insist that your teen always wears a safety belt, even for short trips to the shops. According to the research, you’re 10 times more likely to be severely injured in a road crash if you’re not wearing a seat belt.
Seat belts work because they distribute forces from a crash across the chest and pelvis, some of the strongest parts of the body. So that belt could mean the difference between getting a few bruises versus your body flying into the windscreen.

2. Put the Phone Away

While driving the individual shouldn’t be allowed to use the phone as the physical, visual and cognitive distraction leads to unsafe driving and increases the odds of a crash. Before starting the car, have your phone on silent and put it out of reach. If they need to use the phone, stop and park where using a mobile phone won’t be a danger to themselves or to other road users.

According to researchers, each time a driver writes and sends a text; his or her eyes are off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, enough time to drive the length of a game pitch. Remind teenagers that it’s their job to watch the road when driving, and no one else can do it for them.

3. Stick to the Speed Limit

Speeding is the biggest killer of young drivers, they should remember that there’s no pressure to keep up with other vehicles in traffic. Keeping to the speed limit will not only reduce the risk of an accident but also help drivers avoid costly traffic fines.

4. Check Your Blind Spot Every Time

Side and rear mirrors do a good job of showing what’s happening behind the vehicle. However, they still leave areas big enough for other cars, bikes and people that we cannot see that easily. That’s why drivers should check their blind spots whenever they are:

● pulling out from the curb
● Parking or leaving a parked position
● during a three-point turn
● merging with other traffic
● Changing lanes (e.g. when passing or overtaking)
● turning, where you’ve seen another car
It’s also possible to minimize the size of a blind spot by adjusting the side mirrors so that your own car is out of sight.

5. Sleep, Then Drive

Do you know that driving sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving intoxicated? Sleepiness impairs a person’s attention, working memory and coordination skills, all crucial for safe driving.
An estimated 15 per cent of crashes are caused by fatigued driving, according to research Chris Watling. “Young drivers don’t view the dangers of sleepy driving equally, despite the crash risks being similar.”
Teaching the teens the warning signs of sleep driving, these include daydreaming, difficulty focusing, frequent blinking, heavy eyelids and trouble keeping the head up. Let them know it’s OK to pull over for a 20-minute power nap, and then again get back on the road more rested.

6. Turn on Your Headlights

While it’s an obvious thing to do at night, having your headlights on during the day can make it easier for other drivers to see you. This can be particularly helpful during times when the sun affects visibility (e.g. driving in the early morning or evening).
Road safety campaigner Clive Matthew-Wilson points out: “You can’t control the other drivers on the road. However, by having your lights on during the day, you can make sure other drivers see you before a collision take place.”

7. Get Insurance

While learning to drive, one thing the parent and guardian needs to ensure is to get the car insured, because a person can only control how they drive but cannot be responsible for how the other person drives on the road, to create a cushion against the known-unknown-risk, it’s better to be covered so the beginner driving does not have to worry about not just hitting his own car but other person car as well , so insurance works as not only having a cushion but also sharing the risks as well with the insurance provider, so before you give the car to your child, nephew, younger siblings make sure the car is insured, reducing the chance of your wallet being heavily affected in times of crises.

As important is the phase to learn to drive, more important is to drive safe and get a license, driving without license is illegal and a criminal offense, as before you learn you learn to drive to get a learners license and after you have learnt to drive, apply for a permanent driving license so it’s a bearing proof that you are qualified to drive on road independently, you are familiar with all the traffic rules and regulations

Khurram Zahid

The post 7 Important DrivingTips for Young Drivers appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Earlier, PEMRA held a pre-bidding conference on Friday, 9^th October 2015, at its headquarters in Islamabad. A large number of potential investors including some local companies, mobile network operators and international players including Chinese and Russian companies attended the conference. PEMRA Acting Chairman Kamaluddin Tipu addressed the conference. The bidding/auctioning and the list of provisional winners is scheduled for 7^th December, 2015.

Now, lets take a look at what DTH actually is. DTH, an acronym for Direct-to-Home.  DTH is a digital satellite service that provides television viewing services directly to subscribers through satellite transmission anywhere in the country. It’s a fairly old technology now but finally it’s reaching Pakistan late just like 3G/4G but as the wise man said, ’better late than never’. In this a dish is placed outside a home which helps in receiving the signals and broadcasting the transmission onto a television. The signals are digital by nature and are received directly from the satellite. The digital signals provide optimum quality in all features and make viewing an absolute pleasure. Features like Full HD and Ultra HD 4K resolution, 16:9 Wide Aspect Ratio, 5 Times Digital Picture Quality and HD quality audio add to the incredible experience of television viewing.

The service is state-of-the-art in broadcasting and distribution technologies and has a number of advantages, including enhanced channel carrying capacity, better quality of picture and sound, value-added services such EPG (Electronic Program Guide), Parental Controls, Push,  VoD(Video on Demand), PVR (Personal Video Recorder), Time Scheduling etc. It is also pertinent to mention that PEMRA had hired services of an international consultant i.e. M/s Digital Strategy Consulting & Service Switzerland after a competitive bidding process to ensure transparency in award of DTH Licenses in Pakistan.

Since we’ve described what DTH and it’s features are, let’s have a look at the current market. As we all know, the local market is currently flooded with cheap Dish TVs that are brought in through illegal channels and sources, these are available at cheap rates but the downsides are that no after sales services or support are available for these nor these come with any kind of warranty whatsoever for the hardware offered. On the upside, DTH has a lot of market potential for investors and it is expected that the service will result in a lot of investment & employment opportunities fetching speedy return on investment. It will also help with the fact that availability of legal DTH in Pakistan will also help curbing the proliferation of illegal DTH of neighboring countries in Pakistan which is causing loss of millions of rupees to the national exchequer annually. The launch of this service will be a step forward towards meeting the direction of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for digitalization of broadcast media & distribution services. Moreover, the service will also stimulate HD/UHD content development in the country and emergence of variety of new channels. Also the latest UHD and FullHD TVs can work at their full potential and show true High-Definition content on the screens and other features of modern devices can also be used to their full potential.

PEMRA efforts in curbing the menace of illegal DTH were also highlighted. Participants were told that an advertisement informing general public and warning cable TV operators to stop using illegal DTH has been widely published in all leading newspapers today. Crackdowns against cable operators who are using illegal DTH for further distribution of channels are also initiated. Though this can take a lot of time and is difficult because of the extensive influx of cable TV in the local market. Also the service providers will have to come up with good packages in terms of pricing to make wider embracement by public possible.

What’s your say on this matter? Do you think it’s finally a good move by PEMRA to bring in a better technology to the public? Voice your opinions to us in the comments below. We personally think that it’s an excellent move and will benefit everyone including public, media and the government authorities in the long term and with competitive pricing this can really be a game changer in the media consumption market.

Khurram Zahid

The post PEMRA to issue 3 DTH (Digital TV) licenses appeared first on Smartchoice.pk.

Will 3G end the market for Conventional Broadband Service Providers in Pakistan?

In a word, NO!

Based on current infrastructure, Pakistan is some ways off in even launching proper 3G service, let alone 4G.  The market for trial 3G services is not even a month old and only offered in limited geographical zones within the popular urban centers of Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

The average smart phone user is still figuring out, on how to use, the limited 3G trial services currently available.  It was less than 2 weeks ago that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authorities formally awarded 3G licenses to the successful bidders of last month’s 3G and 4G auction.

The nature of 3G technology is such that it will be quite some time before it makes older technologies like DSL, Wimax and Cable irrelevant. In his 2012 article for PCMag, Sasha Sagan presents the technological elements of  the Wimax vs 3G and LTE debate.  While the article focuses primarily on mobile phone networks, the implication is clear.  Customers will always opt for higher bandwidth that is consistent. Towards that end, they will ultimately opt for 3G and 4G.

However, based on infrastructural, product and pricing constraints, Pakistan is still a long way off from this switchover.  In a recent report for Express Tribune, Farooq Baloch presents some of the infrastructural challenges that have to be met before 3G and 4G service is even widely and properly available. Some of the comments for this article are equally instructive including this exercpt from the optimistic commentator Garam Aaanday:

“………In a Nutshell 3G+4G Deployment requires less than 1 year to be implemented throughout Pakistan.”

Until then, it will be difficult to see the real effects of the switch over from DSL and Wimax to 3G and LTE.  Nonetheless, even after successful implementation of 3G and LTE networks, the Pakistani internet user is not likely to completely discard older technologies.

This study by Delta Partners highlights that the latest technology might not always be the most optimal for every user. The usage patterns, as highlighted in this study, are actually quite paradoxical and show that it is rural users who will benefit more from 3G and LTE networks as opposed to existing urban users in higher population densities.  Urban users who still be better served by continuing with their DSL and Wimax service providers.

In a country like Pakistan, it is difficult to see Wimax, DSL and cable becoming obsolete in the near future. Aside from infrastructural concerns, it makes more sense to view the newer 3G and LTE services as complimentary products to the existing Wimax, DSL and Cable services currently being offered.

One must not forget that these existing services represent those companies that have survived intense competition.  These companies also include the semi-private PTCL – a national behemoth that provides multiple products and whose existing infrastructure is unbeatable in the short run.

Similarly, even if it is premature to talk of pricing, one can safely argue that the successful bidders for 3G and LTE services need to recoup their auction bid.

(At this point, and for the purposes of this article, it is pointless to highlight the alleged problematic nature of the auction where the successful bidders will simply be adjusting their existing receivables with the PTA).

With Data usage packages being quoted at Rs.20/Mb (Zong) and comprehensive bandwidth packages likely to cost multiple times the existing bandwidth packages, the 3G and LTE customer is already looking at a hefty increase in their internet costs.  Furthermore, the market for such services is also restricted by the smart phone owner market in a developing country like Pakistan. Segment the 3G and LTE market further and this niche market shrinks even further as the price range for smart phones supporting LTE makes such a service affordable to only a select few. This is likely to make pricing even more uncompetitive compared to existing technologies.

There is no doubt that video steaming and video calling appear very enticing but how large is this market segment in Pakistan?

With increasing censorship and the prevailing ban on YouTube, the compelling attraction to switch to 3G and LTE reduces further. In the long run, DSL, Wimax and cable may well go the way of the dial up internet connection. However, studies show that that is a slow and gradual switch over even in developed economies.  In a country like Pakistan, the introduction of 3G and LTE will simply serve as an incentive to the World calls and Qubees to further improve both their service and their pricing.  The Pakistani customer can finally be introduced to a technology that has been enjoyed by its Indian and Afghan neighbors for nearly a decade.  For an upbeat conclusion, that is not a bad place to be as a consumer.

Image courtesy www.jehzlau-concepts.com

Khurram Zahid

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