Dear Commissar Alex
Compliments for the New Year debates!
On you debate; you have raised other equally important contextual factors
relating to the transport crisis in South Africa.
While watching the news on the googlebox, it has become a ‘breaking news’
element, with vehicles piling up at ‘so-called’ toll-gates, which are nothing
but capitalist ‘money-making machines’, to feed [its] parasitic-cravings.
This point was observed from what you alluded to that ‘the apartheid geography
and its unequal development of infrastructure, in fact under-development based
on race, contributing factors to road accidents’.
All these are caused by the legacy of separate development, with many urban
populations moving towards the ‘reserve zones’[Bantustans], to see their loved
ones, of courseother may be accounted to those ‘bourgeoisie’ and ‘elites’ going
towards the sea front to deflate their turn-over.
RTMC have made self-praising statements that more than 7000 licenses were
cancelled yet year in, year out, they have failed to nip in the bud the
continued ‘corruption’ of lazy citizens, to acquire fraudulent motor vehicle
licenses across all centres.
Perhaps, it is time for COSAS/SASCO to campaign for a curriculum to acquire
licenses at FET’s, to make safe driving a way of life. And agree with you that
‘most importantly, drivers must be taught the importance of the right to life’.
We must save these human lives today………
rom: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, January 2, 2012 4:27 PM
Subject: Re: [YCLSA Discussion] Road carnage reduces safe travelling in Mzanzi!
A very good article indeed.
The apartheid geography and its unequal development of infrastructure, in fact
under-development based on race, are, in addition to skills and attitude or as
two of the primary problems, contributing factors to road accidents. This is
coupled with poor public transport, related infrastructure and facilities.
The drivers license curriculum must also change. People are taught to pass the
learners and drivers tests rather than to drive and respect other road users.
I've been amongst other developed countries in Germany. I've seen drivers tests
conducted during the night as well. That makes sense. Driving at dawn and dusk
is not the same as at 12:00PM on a sunny day. These things must be taken into
consideration. Most importantly drivers must be taught the importance of the
right to life.
Taxi system must also change. The current situation is that the more reckless
and speedy the driver is the higher is the reward. Townships are as a result
not easy to drive in, because lawlessness is almost law, stopping anywhere
anytime and on-rampping anywhere anytime is the norm.
Yea, thanks Norman for a good subject.
Sent by AlexM
From: Norman Mampane <[email protected]>
Sender: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 04:40:38 -0800 (PST)
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ycl<[email protected]>
Subject: [YCLSA Discussion] Road carnage reduces safe travelling in Mzanzi!
Road carnage reduces safe travelling!
South Africa is becoming one of the un-safest countries on the raods.for the
record, almost 600 people have been killed while travelling. One of the
Millennium Development Goals is about enhancing safety on the roads, but ‘we’
are not near the grade in matching some ‘most developed’ countries.
Perhaps, one of the contributory factor is that ‘we’ have not made ‘safe
travelling’ a way of life. Yet year after year, the ministry of transport has
made ‘rhetorical threats’ of confiscating licences from un-characteristic
drivers. We have not mastered the art of science in ‘making driving’ part of
the schooling curriculum.
‘For some, a driver licence means independence and freedom. For others, it’s a
necessary tool for their work. But being on the road carries a risk; for you
and others road users. Whether you want a licence for a motorcycle or car, or
to operate a passenger bus or bulldozer, your licence comes with
responsibilities’, says one of New Zealand pamphlet on how to become a ‘good’
driver.
Many of motorists acquire licences through ‘panic’ of losing ‘job
opportunities’ and/or offers for a ‘better lifestyle’ yet we have not become
‘gene[d]’ to master good driving behaviour. One of the boring aspects of
driving is, to ‘observe’ drivers driving while fiddling and/or ‘fingering’ with
electronic gadgets, drinking and driving and road ‘rage’.
Last year during the same period, about 1 582 road accidents occurred in which
more than 1 761people died which is equivalent to 269 people killed only in New
Zealand during the same period. New Zealand registered a reduction of road
fatalities by 100 from 369 by the same year.
The Road Transport Management Corporation [RTMC] has previously argued that
‘Attitudes in South Africa are in serious need of adjustment’, and this was
negated but ‘we’ only recover from slumber in December. This must stop!
And such financial burdens are felt by the families and obviously the Road
Accident Fund in processing those claims by victim’s next of kin.
In one skills development session, the Minister of Higher Education and
Training posed an important question as to whether road fatalities, are not as
a result of a skill factor on the roads?
Certainly, South Africa is not immune from the suffering of ‘shortemism’ in
acquiring vehicle licences and/or testing of vehicle in which the
highly-connected become the ‘fittest worms’, to benefit at the expense of a
qualified driver.
Still, many driving schools are manned by ‘capitalists’ people on the basis
that many see learner sessions as ‘milking cow’ for quick bucks on ‘impatient
learners’, who are lazy to go through stringent processes and/or procedures to
obtain same.
And also the scourge of bribery and corruption has corrupted the system such
that to ‘offer’ a bribe is seen as business as ‘usual. Until we agree that road
fatalities is a skill hiccup, we continue to apply all measures in the book to
deter un-characteristic drivers with no gain.
We must inculcate sound driving behaviour at a tender age to make driving
safely and responsibly a way of life. And the basic education and further
education band becomes a change driver in this regard.
The public commentary which always are predictable with writing such as this
that, ‘The preliminary statistics provided show that there has been very little
change in the carnage that occurred on South Africa’s roads this festive’, must
be a thing of the past!
By:
Mampane Norman
National Spokesperson
Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union
Tel: 0112424600/4615
Cell: 0720737959/0722000275
Email: [email protected]
www.popcru.org.za
01 Marie Road
Auckland Park
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