Reloaded success with Hlengiwe

Last week I witnessed an accident in motion in one of the biggest roads of Gauteng. Tragic as it was, I did not feel as sad and devastated as I usually get when I see an accident, especially when it is a young person.

This time, I was angry and disappointed. I was disappointed by the fact that as young people, we seem to be living our lives as if we have a spare life somewhere. In fact, I am tempted to say that we are a very selfish and inconsiderate generation. We are failing ourselves and our children by failing to preserve our lives, and the resources we have for the future generation. We kill rhinos, we do not test for HIV on time, we drink and drive, and we smoke drugs.

I spent four years of my life studying human behaviour, but I honestly struggle to accept some of the behaviours we manifest nowadays. How does one take his hard-earned cash to go out and drink like there is no tomorrow, and then get into his hard-earned sports car and drive? I was very angry at this young man because clearly he is selfish.

In South Africa (SA), we have agencies like the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) which is an independent body that’s been specifically tasked with the research and compilation of road accidents statistics in SA. Its main objective is to document the main causes of accidents, with the aim of developing strategies that will help reduce road accidents in the future.

Such strategies are usually in the form of laws and programmes for example the AARTO system (law) and having October as a national transport month (programme of action). The latter is used as a period dedicated to teaching people more about transport and road safety, specifically preventive measures.

SA is classified as a developing state, and has adopted the developmental paradigm as a model which guides its interventions. The key factor of this paradigm is prevention, and yes, cliché as it may sound, indeed “prevention is better than cure”. In my opinion, prevention of road accidents is not government’s responsibility; it is the responsibility of each and every driver, passenger and pedestrian.

The life insurance industry is thriving in our recklessness and negligence. Lately we’ve been seeing new types of covers for accidental deaths, and this for me shows just how much of a careless generation of drivers we are.

During this year’s transport month, I would like for us as young people to remember that we are responsible of taking care of our lives and resources, not only for ourselves, but for our offspring as well

I am certain that the University of Mpumalanga will be one breakthrough in our attempt to seek solutions (through innovative research) to these road accidents.

We all come from families, we all have loved ones who pray for us and wish us well, we owe it to them to behave right and be sane at all times.

This edition is dedicated to all the young people who lost their lives in road accidents. A special rest in peace to the Nkomazi FM youngsters who lost their lives in a car accident recently.

Do follow us on twitter: @_mpnews and @_hlengimganu and visit our website on www.mpumalanganews.co.za