Changing behaviour to improve South Africa’s roads

Christelle Fourie, MD, MUA Insurance Acceptances

We are all aware of the shocking statistic that South Africa is one of the countries with the highest motor vehicle accident rates in the world. This doesn’t hit home until you read that 1 279 people died on South Africa’s roads between 1 December 2012 and 1 January 2013.

Clearly something needs to be done in order to improve the safety of our roads. While alcohol has been recognised as a major cause of road accidents, road safety website Arrive Alive points out that road accidents involving young inexperienced drivers is also a major challenge. In an effort to improve safety on the roads, MUA Insurance Acceptances MD, Christelle Fourie, says that the South African government should contemplate following a similar programme that the UK is planning to implement.

Draconian laws or necessary evil?

Accidents involving young people are rampant in Britain and accounts for almost 20% of deaths on British roads in 2011. These are incidents involving drivers aged between 17 and 24. Following this, the UK Department of Transport is set to publish a Green Paper that aims to significantly limit younger drivers' rights on the road in order to curb this statistic.

Mail Online reports that teenagers could be allowed to get behind the wheel of a car a year earlier than at present. However, the controversial proposal to lower the minimum age for a provisional licence to 16 would be tied to a specific ‘minimum learning period' of up to a year. It is hoped this would give teenagers sufficient experience of the road before they are allowed to do their test at 17.

The young learners might also have to take lessons on motorways, at night and in bad weather so that they are better able to cope with such conditions when driving unaccompanied.

There are also plans to require young drivers to have basic training from qualified instructors who would sign off the lessons covered in an official log-book. Relying for instruction on parents or older siblings would not count.

Only after the fixed learning period is over would the driver be allowed to take his/her test. If they pass, they would then be subject to a range of restrictions such as limiting the number of passengers they may carry, and where and when they are allowed to drive. There would also be curfews whereby these young drivers would have to be indoors by a certain time, until they have gained enough experience to become full legal road users.

Can South Africa realistically follow suit?

It is all very well implementing a system such as this in the UK because they have the necessary capacity to properly police and oversee the implementation of this programme. Another significant factor which benefits the UK population is the fact that they do have a dependable public transport system which serves a large portion of the population. If there is a chance that a young driver cannot comply with these outlines, or is failing to make the grade as a driver, they can rely on public transport.

Can South Africa confidently say that it is in the same position? Not only will there be a problem with policing a similar programme, but with a public transport system which is unreliable, a young adult who cannot make the grade as a driver often has to resort to desperate measures.

Despite this obvious challenge, Fourie says it should not stop the implementation of a similar programme in South Africa and points out that the proposed changes to UK road legislation is a proactive and necessary step toward reducing the accidents and related deaths. "Younger drivers tend to constitute a far higher volume of accidents on the roads, as they have less experience and tend to take more risks.”

She says the risks that young South African drivers in particular are willing to take were highlighted in a recent Goodyear global survey of 6 400 drivers under the age of 25. Young South African drivers scored far higher on questions related to driving misbehaviours than their global counterparts: 83% of South African young drivers indicated they accelerate to make it through an orange light, compared to the global average of 73%, and 48% weave from lane to lane to get ahead in comparison to the global average of 28%.

"It is clear that young drivers in South Africa tend to have bad attitudes when it comes to obeying the rules of the road. Eventually someone is going to have to make a stand and perhaps it's time to say that our youth are a bit too immature to be given the freedom that they have,” says Fourie.

Effects on the insurance industry

The implementation of this programme will obviously have a significant effect on the South African insurance industry. If the statistics from Arrive Alive are to be believed, accidents in South Africa could be reduced by as much as 20%.

This will have a positive impact on the local insurance industry and Fourie believes that the whole industry should be behind the campaign. "Proactive risk management can only benefit the industry. And if Government is prepared to put its weight behind safety warning labels on cigarette boxes and alcohol bottles, then there is no reason why they cannot put their weight behind this initiative.” However, it will be hard to implement this programme without overcoming significant challenges

In addition to this, Fourie points out that brokers need to be aware that there are specific products which benefit younger drivers. "Telematics is making a huge impact on society. And brokers need to educate their clients on the benefits of this. Telematics cannot continue to be seen in a negative light. Think of the benefits a detailed driving report can be to a parent who may not be in the car with their child when they drive. These reports can definitely facilitate corrective behaviour,” says Fourie.

Editor's Thoughts:
While Fourie has some very valid points, there are some significant challenges which need to be addressed. How is South Africa going to improve the capacity of its traffic departments to oversee the implementation of such a programme? And we have to come to terms with the fact that without a dependable public transport system, there is no safety net for young drivers to fall back on while completing a lengthy programme such as the UK one. Please comment below, interact with us on Twitter at @fanews_online or email me your thoughts [email protected].

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