Sharpen your skills with Ford’s DSFL
EVER driven on any road in South Africa and been totally flummoxed by some moves by fellow road users that are literally accidents waiting to happen?
You’re not alone and sadly our road death statistics reflect this situation with over 14 000 people killed annually and 1 612 deaths between 1 December 2018 and 8 January 2019.
Which, based on the average, means about 13 000 people are still to die in accidents this year.
Basically, we get our licences (illegal ones are also a large part of the problem) and that’s that, 30-40 years later we’re still driving with the same old bad habits.
Many of these, however, could be easily avoided if only people would take heed of the tons of information out there, but sadly they don’t.
One of the options is to attend the Ford Driving Skills for Life (DSFL) programme. At its core, DFSL aims to give drivers insight and experience regarding all aspects of safe driving, equipping them with practical skills as well as tips and advice on how to use less fuel.
Ford highlighted this recently by inviting a group of media to the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria using a number of their products including the Mustang, Ranger, Everest, Fiesta and EcoSport.
Most of us were motoring scribes who have done hundreds of thousands of kilometres behind the wheels of various vehicles on all kinds of road surfaces in different parts of the world, but it’s always a good idea just to reset the default settings.
DSFL is Ford’s flagship road safety campaign launched in South Africa in 2010 and rolled out to Nigeria, Angola, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Madagascar. The courses are offered free of charge and more than 3 800 drivers have passed through the capable hands of the instructors.
“We provide new skills and information that isn’t shared with new drivers in basic driver education courses,” says training director for MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, which runs the DSFL programme for Ford in the region. “We address the inexperience factor that helps new and existing drivers, including hazard recognition, vehicle handling, space and speed management as well as distracted and impaired driving.”
One of the interesting exercises was donning a pair of drunk goggles which simulates the effects of having a few drinks and then getting behind the wheel. Being one of the leading causes of accidents, driving under the influence has to be one of the dumbest things any driver could do. The rule is simple. Don’t.
The same goes for texting and driving. Don’t.
You also get invaluable advice in case you’re on the receiving end of a hijacking.
A large percentage of deaths are pedestrians and along with the AA, Ford have started the #ISeeYou campaign. They’ve educated 25 000 commuters and pedestrians around the importance of seeing and being seen on the road in low light and at night. 15 000 reflective sashes have also been distributed, adding to pedestrian safety.
You may think you’re the best driver south of the Sahara, but trust me, you’re not, and a course such as the DSFL programme will only make you a better one. For more information go to www.ford.co.za/ about-ford/driving-skills/.