car on the test tracks with cones
Here’s a sad reality: By this time next month, we will all – with the exception of the families involved – have forgotten about the tragic deaths of 14 children killed when the minibus taxi taking them to school collided head-on with a truck.
Even the authorities – who were doing their usual closing of the stable door after the horse had bolted display by safety-checking scholar transport across Gauteng – will be back to their laissez-faire ways.
Those safety checks turned up a shocking 94% of vehicles failing compliance tests.
We bet they’ll all be back on the road this time next month, with their pupil passengers cheating death every school day.
ALSO READ: Gauteng scholar transport horror: 94% of vehicles fail pre-test inspections
We don’t need better enforcement. We just need enforcement, full stop.
But, also, as driving safety expert Eugene Herbert tells us today, perhaps defensive driving training should be made mandatory before driving licences are issued.
Defensive driving is not about flashy car control on skidpans, it is about learning to “read the road”, monitor what is happening around you and predict what is going to happen.
Herbert argues that proper defensive driving can give you the edge in a head-on collision… the literal difference between life and death.
Pay attention, department of transport.
NOW READ: Nine schoolchildren injured in Durban scholar transport crash
About the Author
