Eqstra, government work on pedestrian safety project

DRIVER management by government departments is becoming a major growth area, according to Eqstra Fleet Management and Logistics, one of the biggest vehicle fleet managers in Africa and a subsidiary of JSE-listed Eqstra.

Eqstra Fleet Management and Logistics recently partnered with the government, the United Nations and the Nelson Mandela Centre for Memory to address the scourge of road fatalities through the launch of the Think Pedestrian Campaign.

The objective of the campaign is to makes drivers aware of the vulnerability of pedestrians, and to raise funds to improve hazardous accident spots and implement education programmes for pedestrians throughout the country.

The GM for human capital at Eqstra Fleet Management and Logistics, Brenda Matyolo, yesterday said government departments’ policies were sometimes not really supportive of what happened to roads, especially where national roads ran through small towns.

She explained that as part of the initiative, Eqstra is inspecting roads, speaking to communities and determining what can be done immediately, such as giving out reflective armbands for pedestrians at night and educating children.

But more collaboration was needed — for example, ensuring the Department of Human Settlements does not build too close to roads.

Ms Matyolo said the move by government departments to make use of driver management technology was a positive development.

There would be no more thumbsucking, she said: “If a driver reports an accident you can actually track the route online and investigate.”

The technology comes with addons, such as telling managers in advance that drivers’ licences are due for renewal.

The government was also looking at live control rooms to monitor vehicles on the roads.

Two products being provided are directly relevant to how accidents can be curbed: an online accident management programme that helps with driver behaviour and provides a driver scorecard that shows weaknesses, and a GPS tracking solution that caps speed in real time, so when a truck or bus hits the peak, it automatically slows down.

“In the first month we capped at 120km/h. We managed to bring our fleet cost down by 27% — via reduced petrol, fines, management, services,” Ms Matyolo said.

“But interestingly, it also changes behaviour. You are too scared to go over 120 even without this feature.”

It is understood bus company Putco has approached Eqstra with a view to buying these products.

The technology is South African and was created by Graham Steyn, with Eqstra a majority shareholder in the company called GPS Tracking Solutions. Mr Steyn has been snapped up by Eqstra as a GM.

He is planning to patent the product globally in the hope of penetrating world markets.