Dashcams can improve road safety for everyone
Make dashcams compulsory as there is a death every hour rate on SA roads.
A call for dashcams to be made compulsory is intensifying, as statistics in South Africa show an average of 35 people is killed in road traffic accidents daily.
Car rental experts at StressFreeCarRental.com have launched a campaign to ensure all motorists have a dashcam in place to record incidents while they are driving.
It comes as Road Traffic Management Corporation figures showed there were 12,921 people killed in road traffic accidents in South Africa reported to the police for the year 2018, which equates to more than one death every hour taking the statistic as an average throughout the year.
Make it mandatory
Nationally, a target has been set to reduce the number of deaths each year to 6,984 by the year 2030, with distractions and negligence of traffic rules among the reasons for road accidents in the country.
A spokesman for StressFreeCarRental.com said: “Up and down the country every day, there are hundreds of incidents taking place on our roads that result in minor or major injuries or even death.
“We would like to see the government make it mandatory for every motorist to have a dashcam fitted in their vehicle as an extra layer of protection for drivers, their passengers and all road users. We feel the time for action is now.”
Improve safety
Dashcams are considered an optional add on when driving on South African roads and you don’t need any special permission to use them.
However, in some countries, if you install your dashcam incorrectly and it obstructs your field of vision while driving you could be breaking the law. You could face a fine and the footage recorded on it could be rendered inadmissibly in court.
Police are increasingly asking for dashcam footage for incidents that happen on roads in many countries.
There are many examples in the media of dashcam footage being used in cases to tackle carjacking, road rage, roadside road scams and motorists jumping red lights at traffic lights or contravening other road signs.
In some countries, motorists who car share within their company, for example, must inform everyone they share it with if a dashcam has been installed, as it can often record sound and video record inside the vehicle itself.
It is a breach of privacy if someone in your vehicle is unaware they are being recorded in some countries.
Motorists must also be aware that their own dashcam footage could be used against them if they contravene road rules.
But with the StressFreeCarRental.com campaign ultimately calling for mandatory dashcams to improve road safety for everyone, encouraging safer driving across the board should help achieve this goal and drive down road incidents.
•Source: https://www.itf-oecd.org/sites/default/files/south-africa-road-safety.pdf
