MDANTSANE- In a bid to curb the alarming number of road accidents involving scholar transport drivers, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) held its Defensive Driver Workshops to drivers across the country.
The initiative aims to equip drivers with crucial skills to prevent accidents and save lives, the provincial one took place on 06 November 2024 in Mdantsane Highway taxi rank.
According to statistics an average of 827 children between the ages of 5 and 14 are killed on South African roads annually, with 66% being pedestrians and 33% of passengers. With over 13.5 million children attending school, the potential for accidents is high, especially considering 2 million learners rely on scholar transport.
According to RAF Road & Safety Manager Thabo Makwela, “We are here to do drivers training mainly on scholar transport drivers, as we want to reduce the accidents that have started to rise within those who transport school children. This is a first of this kind that has been done by RAF and we are going all over the country”.
Makwela added that, “In each area we are training about 200 drivers who will be part of scholar transport competition whereby they will undergo, First Aid & Fire fighting trainings, in order to be assist in case of emergency. Telematic device training enables RAF to monitor and detect the behaviour of drivers whilst driving, good drivers will be rewarded at the end of the year and we have engaged other departments to work with us.”
Those who showed moral good behaviour during the period of the competition will receive voucher of the full tank monthly.
In addition, the initiative was also well received by rank management of Mdantsane as Phendule Thuze stated, “We are grateful for the initiative that RAF has brought to us, we will definitely gain more exposure and experience about the rules and regulations of how the road operates.”
The RAF’s workshop, which has trained 800-1000 commercial drivers annually since 2016, focuses on speed management, road worthiness, tyre management, distraction avoidance and hazard identification.
Participants will receive a pocket booklet and certificate of attendance.
RAF Senior Manager for Road Safety Siphamandla Gumbi emphasized the importance of scholar transport drivers recognizing their responsibility in saving lives.
“We want outcomes that include placing value on human lives and reducing road accidents,” Gumbi said.
Furthermore by targeting scholar transport drivers RAF hopes to change driving behaviors and reduce accidents involving this vulnerable group.
The effectiveness of these programs will be measured in the coming years.
Nontando Mbonwa & Luxolo Buli
07 November 2024
Photograph: Taxi Media Image
Leave a Reply