Two organisations hold a defensive programme to equip drivers
As we are approaching the festive season, the RAF want to remind drivers that not only should they refrain from drinking and driving or speeding, but they should also consider their health.
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) and the Gauteng Education Transport Services (GETS) hosted a defensive driver program at Bracken Park Community hall on November 10.
Siphamandla Gumbi, senior manager of road safety at RAF, said the programme they designed provides advice and defensive techniques to student transport drivers because they are aware that many of them are involved in accidents.
“We need to provide them with such things so that they are better prepared to handle hazardous situations on the road when they are driving children. “Our job is to compensate people who have been involved in car accidents because someone else was at fault.”
The act under which we work also requires us to contribute to road safety, which means we must have programmes in place to help reduce traffic accidents. We attempt to be proactive and interact with drivers before an accident occurs, to reduce the number of accidents.
“At the end of the programme, they received a booklet that explained defensive driving and gave tips on how to be better drivers. It is a very summarised booklet with a lot of pictures to explain what happens. They will also receive a certificate of attendance as proof that they were a part of the programme.”
Gumbi also said as we are approaching the holiday season, they wanted to remind drivers that not only should they refrain from drinking and driving or speeding, but should also consider their health.
“We have noticed a lot of accidents due to health reasons. This includes people who don’t see properly, have diabetes, high blood pressure or uncontrolled iron levels. Unfortunately, these things affect your driving ability.
You come across someone who was in an accident because they couldn’t see, had dizzy spells or didn’t take their medication or took it without eating.
“The message we want to send is that health has a significant impact on road accidents. People must take care of their health, especially men because many of them do not want to go to health facilities to be checked,” said Gumbi.
Gumbi emphasised that people should avoid drinking energy drinks while driving because they are not good as they spike your sugar levels and cause high blood pressure. “It is not a good driving supplement because it does not help in any way.
“We’d also like to point out that if people have questions about the RAF or a claim, or if they want to speak with the RAF directly, they can do so on any of our social media platforms, which include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
They can also find us on our website or by calling our call centre at 00860 235523.
GETS regional chairperson of the Ekhuruleni, Paul Malatji, said they are aware of what is going on on the roads and most of the time, school children and passengers are injured.
“We give comprehensive training on how to handle a car and observe. We are taking this not only to the car owners but also to the drivers.
“People must take precautions while driving and respect other drivers on the road because, as you may have heard, people are dying on the roads every day. If we work together, we can stop this,” said Malatji.
