LEBOHANG TSOTETSI | Let’s all make road safety a national project that starts with each one of us

Just about every licensed and unlicensed motorist reading this is a good driver. Perhaps even an excellent driver. How do we know this? Because that is what we habitually tell each other and how we convince ourselves that we are responsible, good drivers.It is almost someone else’s fault.

Driver education and promotion of road safety must, of course, continue. But perhaps it is time that each one of us on the road looked in the mirror. We can all contribute through a major re-awakening of our responsibilities to each other. A fundamental shift in attitudes to road safety and responsible driving behaviours, will spare lives and collectively save us billions in insurance losses.

This fundamental shift in attitudes should start with moving away entirely from the belief system that sees everyone else or always some other class of vehicles or drivers as being solely responsible for crashes. We cannot continue to be on the roads with this way of thinking informing how we drive. A shift in driving culture starts with each of us and the cumulative contributions we can make by paying closer attention to our own behaviour on the road.

Along with the emergency services and healthcare providers, insurers deal daily with the loss and devastation caused by road accidents. Behind every claim lies costs. At a practical level, it is the payers of motor insurance premiums and the economy at large that ultimately bear the costs in terms of write-offs and repairing damaged vehicles.

There is also a negative multiplier effect beyond actual vehicle damage interms of lost productivity and repair or replacement costs. The price (that is, the risk adjusted premium) is ultimately reflected in a tangible way in the motor insurance premium cost.

Over the past few years motor insurance premiums have had to be adjusted to reflect the increasing cost of claims. These costs have been driven largely by increases in prices of parts related to a weaker currency and the greater sophistication of the technology in modern vehicles, which is more expensive to replace.

But, at its core, the motor insurance premiums we pay reflect what insurers refer to as the risk environment. This essentially means the frequency and severity of vehicle crashes, including the rising costs of proper repairs. We can start to change this risk environment by accepting that bad or irresponsible behaviour of others on the roads does not absolve us of our individual responsibilities to drive defensively and safely.

Once the accident has happened, regardless of who was at fault, it is your vehicle that is damaged or written off. Even with insurance, there are costs and considerable inconvenience to follow. We clearly need to move way beyond the idea of blame and the sense that if it’s someone else’s fault we are just fine. We are not.

For example, we should all be familiar with the importance of vehicle checks before a longer journey, along with the obvious requirement not to drink and drive and the need to stop for a break every two hours. And speed, something everyone can control, remains as a core factor in road crashes. There is also a valuable additional tool for drivers that has been introduced by most motor vehicle insurers in recent years.

Telematics, which are often used through a “driving app” on a mobile phone, monitors your driving style across several criteria such as speed, driving style, time of day and distance travelled. Using these apps helps drivers to monitor closely how they are doing on the roads and have had a great impact in encouraging safe and good driver behaviours.

Telematics provide a standard and objective view of driving behaviour. Better performance with these apps frequently leads to premium discounts and rewards because the driver has reduced their risk profile. Moreover, the use of telematics helps improve driving and this has been seen by insurers to reduce risks and claims while contributing to road safety.

It has also been demonstrated that they help reduce invalid claims which is ultimately to the benefit of the ordinary payer. Safer driving, fewer crashes and insurance claims can indeed be achieved through the responsible behaviour of each one of us.

■ Tsotetsi is an insurance risks manager at the South African Insurance Association