Driving on South Africa’s roads can be a dangerous task. Tragically, 1,612 people passed away on our streets during last year’s festive season. So, why can South Africa’s roads be hazardous to use? There are many potential reasons, which include the general road conditions, insufficient law enforcement, vehicle roadworthiness, motorists’ attitudes, pedestrians’ attitudes and education.
Road Conditions
Poor road maintenance is one of the leading causes of accidents on our roads. As South Africa’s roads have deteriorated, the number of accidents has dramatically increased . The road conditions start to become even more dangerous when the weather is less than ideal. Rainfall, fog and other weather conditions could exasperate the situation on our roads. Sudden massive rain downpours can quickly reduce visibility, hide large potholes and even submerge cars in some cases. Livestock and wild animals can also cause car accidents if they suddenly attempt to cross a road ahead of a vehicle.
Law enforcement
Adequate law enforcement is arguably the most crucial factor regarding road safety, which is lacking in South Africa. Bribery or corruption has a negative impact on drivers’ behaviour. For example, motorists may not fear being caught speeding because they might be able to bribe the traffic police if they are caught.
Motorists may also not know how to drive safely by avoiding their driver’s license test and simply paying for it.
Vehicles may have fraudulent roadworthy certificates, which means that some cars that drive on our roads have not passed their roadworthy tests.
Vehicle roadworthiness
Approximately 75% of vehicles on South Africa’s roads are not in a roadworthy condition. Why does that matter? Between 7 and 10 percent of accidents are due to the fact that cars are not roadworthy. Roadworthiness covers many factors, such as worn-out tyres and worn-out brake pads.
Drivers’ attitudes
Motorists attitudes affect their behaviour positively or negatively. Many drivers disobey traffic laws every day, which put other road users’ safety at risk. Examples of this include drinking and driving, texting while driving, not stopping at red traffic lights as well as speeding. Road rage can also lead to poor decision making while driving and result in dangerous driving behaviour.
Pedestrians’ attitudes
More than a third of fatalities on South Africa’s roads are due to pedestrians. Unsafe behaviour, such as being drunk, can lead to pedestrians putting themselves at risk of being hit by a vehicle. Motorists who disobey traffic laws can also put pedestrians at risk. Poorly lit roads can make it harder for drivers to see pedestrians crossing our streets at night as well.
Road safety education
There are potentially severe safety-related consequences of disobeying traffic laws. All motorists and pedestrians disregard their own and other’s safety when they break traffic laws. However, do they know how to behave safely? For example, young pedestrians may not know how to cross a road safely.
A lack of driving experience compounds this issue, especially amongst young motorists. Vehicle accidents are 20 times more likely to happen to teenage motorists compared to middle-aged drivers. For example, an experienced driver may learn on their own that driving while it’s raining makes the roads more slippery, so they need to slow down.
Car insurance cover could be helpful for South African motorists. Perhaps you should consider getting car insurance? Have you considered getting affordable car insurance cover with PMD?
Disclaimer:
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.