SOUTH Africa is one of the countries in the world with high levels of fatal motor vehicle accidents.
National holidays and long weekends have become a bane in that road accidents result in many casualties, which subsequently affects economic productivity since many of the victims are breadwinners.
The Arrive Alive campaign, which contends that 90 percent of all accidents in the country are caused by human error such as drunk and reckless driving and overloading, lacks the vigour to address the problem since it only target the symptoms and not the source.
It is indisputable that our country has the highest number of bad drivers, and this is through no fault of their own, but because there are no properly facilitated driving school in the country.
Obtaining a driver's licence is one of those poorly managed procedures, with many drivers obtaining the document without having been tested.
Besides, the test is a 30-minute procedure that does not even focus on the technicality of driving. The actual foot on the pedal test does not address being on a national road at a high speed.
Questions such as how the driver should react if a vehicle's tyre bursts are never even asked.
Driver's licences as well as basic training in fire-fighting and first aid should be integrated into our education system so that when learners will leave matric with the necessary proficiencies in the technical functioning of a motor vehicle.
The learner's licence can be obtained as part of the matric certificate. This especially nowadays when a driver's licence has become part of job requirements and many young, academically qualified job-seekers lose out on potential employment because they don't have a valid driver's licence.
Phillimon Mnisi, Johannesburg
Reasons for road accidents
SOUTH Africa is one of the countries in the world with high levels of fatal motor vehicle accidents.
National holidays and long weekends have become a bane in that road accidents result in many casualties, which subsequently affects economic productivity since many of the victims are breadwinners.
The Arrive Alive campaign, which contends that 90 percent of all accidents in the country are caused by human error such as drunk and reckless driving and overloading, lacks the vigour to address the problem since it only target the symptoms and not the source.
It is indisputable that our country has the highest number of bad drivers, and this is through no fault of their own, but because there are no properly facilitated driving school in the country.
Obtaining a driver's licence is one of those poorly managed procedures, with many drivers obtaining the document without having been tested.
Besides, the test is a 30-minute procedure that does not even focus on the technicality of driving. The actual foot on the pedal test does not address being on a national road at a high speed.
Questions such as how the driver should react if a vehicle's tyre bursts are never even asked.
Driver's licences as well as basic training in fire-fighting and first aid should be integrated into our education system so that when learners will leave matric with the necessary proficiencies in the technical functioning of a motor vehicle.
The learner's licence can be obtained as part of the matric certificate. This especially nowadays when a driver's licence has become part of job requirements and many young, academically qualified job-seekers lose out on potential employment because they don't have a valid driver's licence.
Phillimon Mnisi, Johannesburg
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