Crash and Burn

South Africa is a land blessed with many things- wonderful weather, awe inspiring scenery, wild animals, powerful thunderstorms and mostly friendly people.
Having said this, South Africa is known more for it's negatives- crime, abuse, lousy education and health care system, corruption....and so on.

Another alarming topic is our driving. During the Soccer World Cup last year, many visitors expressed how aggressive our drivers were and that there is a total lack of respect for laws. Sadly this is the case. Although up to date figures are difficult to come by, I came across some interesting figures. In the UK, it is reported some 2222 (2009 figure) die annually....that is over twelve months! In Japan the figure is 4919 (2009), Sweden-270 (2010) and Israel 370 (2009). These figures come from a World Health Organization Report. In New Zealand over the holiday period ending 2nd January 2011, 11 people died on their roads and Australia there were 40 odd! Both were shocked at the high number.

In South Africa, from 1 December till the 5th of January, we had 1551 road deaths. ( This total is in dispute as it is known that the Department of Transport plays with the figures to reduce the levels)
It is estimated our monthly toll stands at around 1 000.

It goes without saying that this figure is way to high for any civilized country with a decent road infrastructure.
The main reasons given are drinking and driving and speed. Also the pedestrian death toll is pretty steep. Overloading is another cause. Our so called taxi's and buses are packed to capacity as this means extra profit- and as a result, when there is an accident, the chance for large amounts of injured and fatalities is increased.

The minister of transport, Sbu Ndebele, thinks the answer lies with 'driver training, enforcement and education.' Apparently this information will focus on teaching the public that such a high death rate is not natural-like any fool really needs telling.

As for Arrive Alive- it advertises on radio, TV and print media- yet, despite some of the adverts being shocking, it does not sink in. As for enforcement- well, the metro police are usually up for a bride, so many drunk drivers get home safely by some miracle because they have the correct amount of cash in their wallets to purchase a 'get out of jail free card.' This goes for most offences though and the fact that many times the metro police ignore offences when they are not in the mood to work.
Then there is the fact that politician get off with a slap on the wrist. (Eg Dan Kguthule-escaped a mandatory jail sentence and still keeps his licence for almost going double the speed of the limit).
This sends the wrong message to the public, who think that they may do as the examples set by the well known people of this country.

To make a difference we need a decent judicial system, we need hard working and un-corrupt law enforcement people and most of we all need to take responsibility on our own shoulders each time we get behind the wheel.