Road accidents involving scholar transport drivers are occurring with increased frequency. As such, the Road Accident Fund (RAF) is extending its influential Defensive Driver Workshops to Scholar Transport Drivers across the country.
The theory-based workshops equip drivers with crucial lessons in speed management, road worthiness of vehicles, tyre management, avoiding distraction and overloading, searching and identify- ing hazards, predicting possible scenarios, and executing or taking the safest action.
Statistics indicate that on average 827 children between the ages of five (5) and 14 were killed on South African roads annually between 2018 and 2022.
Many of these children were pedestrians at 66%, followed by passengers at 33%. The programme contributes to changing the driving behaviors of the scholar drivers and reducing road crashes involving this road user category in the long run.
The potential for more children to be involved in accidents is high due to the large number of learners at school going age in the country. According to the Department of Basic Education, at least 13.5 million children between the ages of seven (7) and 18 attend school in South Africa. Of this number, 67% walk to school, while 12% (1.6m) travel in private scholar transport.
An additional 3% (400 000) use scholar transport pro- vided by the government. This brings the total number of children using scholar transport to 2 million. The remaining 16% use a combination of private cars and public transport.
Since commencing in 2016, the Fund’s defensive driver workshop has been offered to between 800-1000 commercial transport drivers annually. This includes taxi, truck and bus drivers nationwide.
RAF Senior Manager for Road Safety, Siphamandla Gumbi, said: “It is critical for Scholar Transport Drivers to recognise their share of responsibility in saving the lives of the learners they transport and of other road users.
The Fund has developed road safety initiatives and programmes that focus on changing attitudes and behaviours of road users. We want outcomes that include placing value on human lives and reducing road accidents. In the next few years, the Fund will measure the effectiveness of these programmes, and we hope to see a positive impact.”
Upon completing each workshop, all participants receive a pocket booklet containing information that they learned in the workshop for future reference. Additionally, the drivers receive a certificate of attendance from a reputable Transport Education Training Authority accredited training provider.
Throughout the year, the Fund implements road safety programmes targeting different road users. The pro- grammes include Scholar Patrol uniform distribution and training, Tyre Safety Workshops for Traffic and Road Safety Officers, Cyclist safety programmes for schools and communities, the Comprehensive Road Safety programme for learners and young people, and road safety education in partnership with other road safety stakeholders.
