SELECTIVELY INTERNATIONAL

For solutions to our tra ic problems, we should look across the waters

LOBALISATION was a catchphrase when I was at university, which is a little further back than I care to admit. These days, it’s moved on from a word that describes a new phenomenon to an everyday fact of life and, despite being on the tip of Africa – a long way from the US, Japan, China or Europe – there is very little we do on a daily basis that doesn’t have at least some international in uence.

From the cars we drive, to the food we eat, the television we consume and the fashion we adopt, it all comes from elsewhere. And I am not averse to this notion. I quite like driving cars from other parts of the world, delving into foreign cuisine without leaving my home, enjoying the latest international blockbusters, or using the latest mobile phones and gaming consoles.

What really astounds me, however, is that with the free and open exchange of information – brought about in no small part by high-speed digital communication – we still import and utilise so little. In my line of work, I am fortunate enough to travel on a regular basis and, on these trips, I’ve often seen something and thought, “Wow, that’s so clever. Why don’t we have it back home?” More often than not, these “eye-openers” come about while driving and relate to road use or safety.

I recall driving in Portugal on one of my very rst international launch events. At the customary driver’s brie ng, trying his best with his limited knowledge of English, the Frenchman

Gin charge struggled to make a point regarding traf c lights as they pertained to small villages. On the drive, we encountered a few of these, and the system he spoke of was simple, yet extremely effective. Just as you drove into each of these picturesque Portuguese hamlets, you were shown your speed on a roadside display adjacent to the speed limit for that area. If you were travelling above the prescribed max and continued to do so, a traf c light up ahead turned red. If you slowed, the light turned orange, and the moment you dipped below the speed, it ashed green. So the intent of getting drivers to slow down before entering the high-pedestrian volume area was achieved.

Now, let’s counter that with systems adopted locally. Drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg on the N1 and the smaller settlements that, rightly so, don’t like vehicles speeding through their towns erect speed cameras on entry and exit points. It’s unfortunate that the country’s longest national road has to pass through, but surely a speed camera is more about generating revenue rather than actually getting people to slow down? Wouldn’t a selective traf c-light system provide higher levels of road safety? That’s just one example; I am sure there are countless others.

I once had an interaction with local authorities regarding the placement of speed cameras in the Cape Town area. The local council had seen t to position cameras, with unnecessarily low speed limits, in areas that were not high-accident zones. When I tried to justify my stance by citing an international study that promulgated the 85th percentile – in other words, setting appropriate speed limits to maintain the ow of traf c – it was met with derision. The local traf c representative felt that international studies and methods of reducing speed-related accidents were not applicable here in South Africa.

And this is the bit that gets me. We seem to import, wholesale, ideas and products from abroad, but only in super cial areas. There are countries that have been privy to car ownership longer than we have and have reduced road accidents over time; why aren’t we taking notes? Surely the transport ministry should send fact- nding missions to countries that have successfully reduced road accidents over time? If we can drive German cars, then surely German road-safety systems can be learnt from, or at very least adapted, to help our cause.

I recall reading a few years ago that the Australian minister of transport had resigned because the number of deaths from road accidents had increased over the previous year. This, in a country that has reduced its fatality count from nearly 4 000 in 1970 to just over 1 200 in 2015. According to a study by the International Transport Forum, Australia has 5,6 road-accident-related deaths per 100 000 inhabitants… South Africa, on the other hand, is embarrassed by a gure of 27,6. As much as we may hate to admit it, there must be something we can learn from the Aussies.

It seems that we are quite happy to enjoy the super cial bene ts of globalisation, but when it comes to things that really matter – such as saving lives – we continue to bang our heads on a wall looking for answers that just don’t appear. Hopefully, one day soon, the authorities will realise that they don’t have all the answers and look elsewhere to those who do.