By Ian Mac Olive, Editorial Director at Syzygy Publishing
The Road Safety Partnership South Africa held its Annual General Meeting at Vodacom World on 24th November 2023. Titled ‘Road Safety Education: Empowering the Next Generation’ the focus was on the education of children in the thorny area of road safety in South Africa.
As we all know, the statistics of vehicle accidents on our roads is a horror story, especially when compared to other countries. According to the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) State of Road Safety in South Africa (January 2022 to December 2022), 12 436 people died on South African roads last year. Of these deaths, 5 347 (43%) were pedestrians.
In South Africa, there are more than 1 million road accidents reported each year. The majority of accidents that occur are caused by human factors, with, on average, over 40 people a day being fatally injured and at least 20 being left permanently disabled.
The Automobile Association says “Our country has a culture of driving with impunity where drivers regularly flout the law because of a lack of consequences. Speeding, drunk driving, and texting while driving is commonplace because there is simply not enough law enforcement to curb it. We again call on the Department of Transport to urgently implement the recommendations of the 2019 Traffic Law Enforcement Review Committee which, among other interventions, called for the number of traffic law enforcers in the country to be doubled.”
The RSP-SA is a non-profit organisation with the vision of “A South Africa free of road crash death and injury.” Their mission is committed to reducing road crash related fatalities and injuries in partnership with all sectors. This includes business, civil society and government agencies that are dedicated to reduction of death and injury on our roads.
A large part of this commitment is the provision of road safety education to learners and communities.
The Chairman of RSP-SA, Eugene Herbert, hosted the event bringing a number of distinguished speakers to the podium, including:
James Jordan, Principal Specialist for Safety and Health at Vodacom South Africa
David Cliff, GRSP International CEO, Geneva, Switzerland
Tanya Fosdick, Research Director at Agilisys UK
Patience Mabena, Department of Education in South Africa
Nyameka Makonya, Sustainable Development Specialist at TotalEnergies South Africa
Nicole Melck – Personal Experience from a Road Crash Victim
Sandile Ntseoane, RSP-SA Deputy Chairperson – Chairman’s Award Giving
Liam Clarke, RSP-SA Treasurer – Financial Report and Overview
James Jordan of Vodacom South Africa spoke about the company’s philosophy with regard to road safety. Their Leadership Commitment is “Presence of Controls rather that Absence of Accidents – We work safe or we don’t work at all”. With a credo of “No-one gets hurt” filtering down to everyone in the company, their attitude is one that should be not only admired, but copied.
The Road Safety School Challenge
From the RSP-SA Presentation:
“The Road Safety School Challenge is a pressing issue that demands our immediate attention. The safety of students during their daily commutes to and from school is of paramount. Current statistics reveal a sobering reality of road accidents involving school learners. It is imperative that we work collaboratively to reduce these numbers and ensure safer school journeys.”
The South African Red Cross received the award for outstanding work in the School Road Safety Education Program. The award was presented by Sandile Ntseoane, RSP-SA Deputy Chairman and received on behalf of the South Africa Red Cross by Ireen Mutombwa, Disaster Manager for Red Cross.
Perhaps the most sobering moment was the presentation by Nicole Melck. Nicole’s story is tragic, and victorious. When she was 12 years old, she was involved in a head on collision. She was in the back seat and did not have her seatbelt buckled. The result was massive injury; 4 reconstructive brain surgeries, 3 reconstructive jaw surgeries and 3 reconstructive foot surgeries. She is still disabled, but now is a motivational speaker, pushing road safety and buckling up. Her story is one of courage and hope, and she advocates that “taking a few seconds to buckle up can save your life”.
See her story here.
In conclusion, the RSP-SA does amazing work and is staffed by volunteers. They rely heavily on donations, and this is indeed a worthwhile cause. To donate, click here
For more information of RSP-SA, go to https://www.grsp.org.za/index.php
