Put keys away and know that the car is not a bar

The time has come again for that thing we do with such aplomb: slaughtering each other on the highways during the season of goodwill. What a shame!

Every year at this time law-abiding and peace-loving South Africans cringe indoors because they are afraid of losing a loved one or even somebody they know under these tragic circumstances.

South Africa has some of the highest statistics for road fatalities in the world and we have made international headlines for abnormal road carnage.

The cost of these deaths are exponential. Economists say the cost to the country runs into billions in medical and legal expenses. This does not include the loss to thousands of families or to the national skills base.

Government does much each year to avert this man-made carnage yet each year irresponsible and reckless individuals succeed in subverting these efforts by wilfully disregarding traffic laws.

It must be stressed that this carnage is mostly not accidental!

Mainly it is human initiated misbehaviour and it needs to stop.

Researchers have attributed our high accident rate to speeding, drunken driving, a negative attitude on the road and driving unroadworthy vehicles.

Other factors are drunken pedestrians and stray animals.

History tells us that countries such as Australia – which by the way started its economic development at around the same time South Africa did, also with a mining industry in the 19th century and with similar natural resources, once indulged in the same deadly pastime on their roads.

However, the people of Australia apparently did some introspection and turned their bad road habits around.

Interestingly, Australia now enjoys first world status. Its truck drivers today earn about R1.4-million a year while their South African counterparts still grovel for pitiful salaries accompanied by long working hours, which in themselves lead to some of the horrific annual fatalities.

Needless to say, an economically muscular society is less likely to indulge in reckless road escapades.

But the bottom line is actually one’s attitude towards the country’s rules and regulations. This will always define one’s driving habits.

Another factor is identity and self- perception. For example, a driver with a superiority complex, which is inevitably invoked by an inferiority complex, may attempt to undermine other road users – with deadly consequences.

Many macho men look down upon female and elderly drivers.

You will often observe how we menfolk elbow aside more timid drivers or even force them off the road, using dangerous driving manoeuvres.

Personally, I find it abominable for a licensed driver to harass or even threaten learner drivers or those having mechanical problems.

The first thing our rude driving mob does in such instances is blast their horns, which further rattles the poor driver experiencing difficulty.

This can even cause them to panic and make mistakes that might cause a pile-up and cost lives.

All of which could have been avoided had good manners prevailed.

My varsity friends from our neighbouring countries used to remark on South African drivers’ tendency to speed excessively. Our age at that time misled us into believing such utterances were a sort of praise. We would boast about the country’s good roads and the quality of our cars. Only when I matured did I realise the tragic consequences – and it is indeed painful to learn this through mistakes made on the road.

Speedsters should be named and shamed by society because they are the main culprits of our car accidents.

Insurance companies and road carnage researchers believe that women drivers are the best road users because they are more cautious than men. They are less prone to accidents and as a result pay lower insurance premiums.

We South African male motorists need to emulate our women in driving. If we did I am certain the road accident rate would be drastically cut.

Women drivers have no superpowers that insulate them from accidents.

Mostly they simply drive at lower and more reasonable speeds.

I have never heard a woman brag, as I have some mad men, that she had taken eight or nine hours to drive the approximately 1500km distance between Pretoria and Cape Town.

The reality is that if a sober driver travels at an average 100km/h from Pretoria to Cape Town, they are more likely to reach their destination than the one who averages 140km/h.

I like the road signs that read: “Don’t fool yourself, speed kills”.

However, I still believe road carnage should be fought by all sectors of society, including at a technical level.

Perhaps car designers should make cars that are not able to attain life- endangering speeds.

What’s the point of manufacturing family cars and private vehicles that reach high speeds like 200kph or more?

Speed lovers who crave an adrenalin rush should attend motor racing events instead of venting themselves on our roads.

One of the areas in which the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform has come to the party is through its Recapitalisation and Development programme (RADP) which, among other things, involves fencing off crop fields and grazing camps for livestock.

This hopefully helps prevent animals from wandering into the roads.

Many of the victims of road carnage at this time are migrant workers who are travelling long distances by bus to get to their homes, which are usually located in the poorest provinces.

Train travel should be encouraged with employers providing travel concessions, as was the case in the years gone by.

Successful multinational companies such as those in the mining sector could even consider flying their workers home during the holiday season. A human life is, after all, more valuable than airfare.

And finally, along with speed, researchers attribute most of the country’s road fatalities over the festive seasons to drunken driving.

Unfortunately there is a view that the car is the bar. When socialising some people say they “cannot eat on a dry stomach”.

The fact is that alcoholic beverages negatively affect the central nervous system and this impairs one’s judgment behind the wheel.

That urge for “one for the road” might be your last. Surely it is common sense that drinking and driving do not go together. This deadly combination has deprived so many people of their lives, young and old, and left behind grieving orphans and spouses.

Why not throw your car keys into your wardrobe this festive season? Put on your dancing shoes and shuffle to the rhythms of the festive season instead of putting your life and those of your family at risk. Simply put, let’s drink and jive!

Mtobeli Mxotwa is Ministry of Rural Development and Land Reform spokesman