Road safety possible only if all road users adhere to rules
While driving from Bedfordview to Pretoria recently, I could not help but notice the electronic billboards warning me about a car crash that had taken place ahead on the N1.
Another sign warned me that I needed to reduce my speed and drive with my headlights on, while another billboard, with a picture of a crumpled car, was there to remind me that speed kills.
These messages certainly made me more aware of my responsibility as a driver.
Often, we are in a hurry to reach our destination and spontaneously put our foot on the accelerator in the hope that we will arrive sooner.
Do we, as road users, ever stop to think that we could have been an occupant in that wrecked vehicle on the billboard? Or do we simply ignore road safety messages that are displayed along our national and provincial roads?
Sadly, it seems that many road users still ignore speed restrictions and pedestrians still try to jaywalk across busy roads, despite road safety campaigns encouraging all road users to adhere to the rules of the road.
Every year, the numbers of road collisions stubbornly go high.
As we approach the Easter weekend, we will once again be bombarded by radio, television and print campaigns, all highlighting the issue of road safety. Many will be travelling by road to various holiday destinations. Unfortunately, some will never make it back due to road accidents.
Every year the cost of road accidents to the economy gets bigger.
According to last year’s Road Safety Annual report, the high number of road traffic crashes has had a significant impact on the South African economy and society at large.
Earlier this year, the minister of transport released the festive season statistics on road accidents. They showed that road deaths increased from 257 to 261 in Gauteng. While this increase may seem minimal, it indicates that road safety campaigns are not effective and do not make any real impact on drivers’ behaviour.
It highlights the need for us to go back to basics, re-look how new drivers are tested before they are issued with their drivers’ licences. The testing system needs to be totally overhauled. Learner drivers need to be thoroughly taught and tested, and not just on how well they remember road signs.
Corruption within the traffic department has to be addressed. Those who bribe traffic officers contribute significantly to road deaths.
I believe that it is has become necessary for us to investigate the training system and ascertain if the old “look right, look left, look right again and cross” rule is still being punted in all driving schools.
The number of fatalities and collisions involving pedestrians is also too high, especially in rural areas. We need better policing of our freeways to block access to pedestrians.
Simple things, such as facing oncoming traffic while walking and wearing light clothes to increase visibility, are still being ignored.
We must declare war on driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs which have been implicated as the cause of many road deaths.
To address all these issues there needs to be a firm policy to ensure mandatory speed control devices in place for both heavy-duty and public passenger vehicles. Drivers who are caught flouting the speed limit regulations must be charged with reckless and negligent driving.
The sad reality, though, is that until all road users become considerate of others and walk or drive sober, nothing will change. Until corruption in all our road enforcement agencies is rooted out, nothing will change.
Under the present conditions, road safety campaigns will be a futile exercise and a total waste of resources.