<----  Most drivers are not suitably trained to 'land' their vehicles.
	----> Skid-marks  on the road tell a sorry tale of untrained drivers

Licensed to drive or to kill?

Training of truck, car and taxi drivers is in a sorry state in South Africa, probably the worst we have ever known it to be. And this despite the fact that driver training is internationally acknowledged as one of the most effective tools in reducing accidents rates. A man who is passionate about the subject - and yet remains as frustrated as ever at the lack of recognition of the subject - is Dave Johnson, head of Masterdrive. In this article, he puts forward some of his feelings - and frustrations - as food for thought. While readers will notice reference to car as well as truck drivers, the principles apply for both categories.

Would you fly with a pilot who knows how to take off but not how to land? This is not a humorous question - I am being deadly serious. If drivers were trained to the same extent that pilots are, most of our collisions would not occur.

Most drivers on our roads are not suitably trained to "land" their vehicles. As proof, just look at the skidmarks on our roads. Additionally, just read the rubbish that drivers' state on their insurance collision report forms:

• The vehicle skidded off the road. (Naughty, untrained, irresponsible and unsociable vehicle)

• The car (or truck) rolled. Just imagine a pilot saying "the plane would not land".

• The other vehicle came out of nowhere. Yeah, right - a one ton piece of steel, disguised as an truck, coming out of nowhere! Surely this must be magic.

Skidpan training is part of the basics of driving. Human beings and vehicles have limits. These limits need to be explored and understood if a driver wants to ensure they get from point A to point B in one piece.

Additionally we are fed misinformation regarding the causes of collisions in the media.

• Invariably the "blowout" is blamed for the collision. That's nonsense. What the driver does after the blowout is the problem.

• Brake failure, specifically on heavy-duty vehicles, is also another common area of blame. This too is nonsense. Brakes do not fail. It is either a maintenance or driver training problem where the driver has not been suitably trained to stay off the brakes and use the gears, retarder system or exhaust brake. 

Having been involved in advanced driver training in South Africa for 25 years and having brought many issues to the attention of the authorities and the public via TV, printed media and radio, it seems it has all been in vain. 

Training reduces collisions
There is ample proof locally and internationally that post licence Advanced or Defensive driver training results in impressive reductions in collisions. In South Africa, we can prove a minimum of 50% reduction in collisions after training. This reduction has been as high as 100% with certain companies in the 24 months after training. 

How do you get out of this one? Everyone is illegal here. A trained driver would not put himself in such a position.

Yet little or no attention is paid to this. In fact, we are going backwards. KwaZulu-Natal has recently lost the use of the only skid-pan in the province. An international company has bought the Natal Training Centre premises in Pinetown and the skidpan is no longer available for hire. There is only one skidpan in the country - which is in Gauteng - that can handle heavy-duty vehicles. 

Following distance
Let's look at something which is so easy to rectify via driver training and yet is the biggest cause of collisions. I'm talking about maintaining correct following distances. Invariable drivers tail-gate the vehicle in front which gives the driver insufficient space, time and often visibility to react to an adverse situation in front of him. This results in a collision.

Due to inadequate following distances between vehicles, multi-vehicle collisions occur on our freeway systems on a frequent basis. The motoring public are not educated regarding many of these life saving issues. Even the traffic authorities are guilty of tailgating so it is no wonder other road users feel it is OK to tailgate. We learn by example.

Speed is another example where traffic vehicles set the incorrect example. How often have you seen these vehicles driving at high speed without their lights or warning devices activated? A lot of traffic officers do not even wear seatbelts. Any wonder that the public also don't wear seatbelts in general? 

But let's start at the beginning with the problems regarding entry level driver training and the licensing system. With the HIV/AIDS problem causing increased deaths, unless things change rapidly in South Africa, we are indeed heading for a bleak future - and this especially in the trucking industry.

No standards out there
There is no legislated training for driving instructors - and this at both pre and post licence levels. Anyone - with or without a driver's license - can open a so-called 'driving school' or 'Advanced Driving school'. Nobody monitors standards. In fact, we could have been teaching drivers to do barrel rolls and no-one would be the wiser. There are no standards out there.

A person who passes his or her driver's licence on one day can apply for an instructor's certificate the next day! This requires paying a fee, filling in an application form, a medical certificate and fingerprints. The test to become an instructor is the same test when you apply for a learner's license! The situation is the same for instructor's certificates for all codes of vehicles.

Section 28b of the Road Traffic Act makes provision for the registration and grading of instructors. This is not in place. The infrastructure is there, as is the instructor's manual which is approved by the nine Provinces. No training facilities are available for instructors. There is also no legislated body to govern and monitor instructor standards.

The same set of criteria is followed for the Professional Driving Permit. There is no test, training or monitoring of standards. The PrDP is bought over the counter after having applied, produced a medical certificate and had your fingerprints taken! This allows the driver to drive any goods or passenger vehicle for gain.

Section 32 of the Act states that the purpose of the PrDP is to set elevated standards for drivers of certain categories of vehicles. But there is no test on rules of the road, signs, markings and no practical driving test!

Lack of enforcement 
Maybe the root problem is that there is a lack of adequate enforcement of our laws. Laws are only as good as the enforcement. Apart from in KwaZulu Natal, the only visible enforcement done on our roads is speed monitoring and speed trapping. There is a huge difference between necessary speed 'monitoring' and speed 'trapping' with the latter infuriating the public as is it seen only as an income generating exercise.

Having witnessed many incidents of traffic officers seeing but not stopping unroadworthy vehicles, it makes you wonder. Also, traffic officers should look at their own habits. Those who drive with front and/or rear fog lights on when there is no fog around should be forced to seek alternative employment. My comments regarding what type of employment will be censored in case it is construed as unconstitutional!

The K53 driver's license test is a good and objective system. In fact, interest has been expressed in this system from overseas. However, here in South Africa, we do not monitor or train examiners sufficiently and bribery and corruption is becoming the norm. Having witnessed the bribery and corruption in many countries in Africa, we are fast-tracking down the same route.

South Africans have been taught with a huge stick not to speed. Unfortunately, what really counts from a survival and collision avoidance point of view, has not been taught. Let's look a few of these:

Adjusting speed
Adjusting speed to changing conditions, environment and traffic pattern is what really matters. Just look what happens on our roads during the winter months every year, multi-vehicle collisions due to reduced visibility from bush fires. When the rains arrive in spring, multi-vehicle collisions also occur due to reduced visibility and reduced traction levels. In fact, most drivers are not aware that the main purpose of treads on tyres is to disperse water in wet weather to prevent the vehicle from aquaplaning.

 

Another one bites the dust. This was the after-result of a near miss head-on collision near Mooi River in early morning mist. As Dave Johnston rightfully says: A trained driver will adjust his speed to changing conditions, environment and traffic pattern.

Speed differentiation
Additional important issues regarding speed that are clearly not understood are speed differentiation and being able to stop in the distance you can see. Too slow can be as dangerous as too fast. Ever seen a cautious or inexperienced driver trying to join a freeway at 60 kph when the traffic is flowing at 100kph?

 

Ready to take to the road but is your driver trained to take to the road safely?

Overdrive the headlights
At night, drivers also overdrive their headlights by dipping their lights for an oncoming vehicle and then continuing to drive at the same speed. Now you can understand why we kill so many pedestrians at night? What about certain signs that warn us to do 80kph in fog when maybe only 50kph is the correct speed? What about certain traffic authorities that put up speed monitoring devices in the right hand lane only on a freeway. Could this be the reason why more overtaking on the left is becoming evident?

Space to stop
Most drivers hugely underestimate the distance needed to stop a vehicle. Light motor vehicles constantly cut in front of heavy duty vehicles and coaches that need much more space to stop. We need to get back to basics.

Sophisticated systems
Vehicles are getting more sophisticated with amazing safety devices like anti-skid control and anti-lock brakes (ABS). But who teaches drivers what these systems do? Many car drivers are unaware if they're driving a front or rear wheel drive vehicle. These different types of vehicles exhibit completely different handling characteristics in emergency situations. Many drivers do not even know if the vehicle has an anti-lock braking system or what to do if you do not have ABS. Without ABS, the application of the brake pedal is completely different in an emergency situation.

What about the training and certification of drivers of vehicles transporting dangerous goods? When will this happen. What about NATIS and the licence points demerit system? When will these ever be implemented?

 

It all looks calm for these truck drivers as they approach the Mariannhill toll plaza. But look what they have to share the road with before and past the plaza. This was the holiday traffic coming out of Durban this past Easter. The thousands of cars that take to the roads over peak holiday periods - many driven by totally shoddy drivers - can present a nightmare for the untrained truck driver who is exposed to increased road risks. A properly trained driver will take it all in his stride.

The list is endless. Why do we always feel we have to re-invent the wheel? Many specialists in South Africa have the solutions to our abysmal situation but it seems the authorities would rather spend huge amounts of money getting specialists from Australia or Holland to tell us what to do.

Speed kills! If this were a true statement, then all racing drivers and pilots would be dead! What about introducing the slogan "Reckless or untrained drivers kill"? That would be far closer to the truth.

In this country, there is a desperate need to get back to the basics - and the basics of driving is training. Is anyone listening out there?

About the author Dave Johnston - "There is ample proof locally and internationally that post licence advanced or defensive driver training results in a reduction in collisions."  Dave Johnston's experience in driver training, traffic safety and collision analysis started in 1977 with the start of South Africa's first motorcycle safety training centre, Honda Ridewell Motorcycle Academy. Interestingly enough, the Transvaal Provincial Administration tried to close this academy as Johnston did not have an instructor's certificate. At that stage, legislation required an instructor's certificate for learner instruction on a public road. Honda Ridewell was situated on private property.  The TPA then changed legislation to include private property. At this stage, Johnston was the first person to apply for a motorcycle instructor's certificate and the authorities did not know how to conduct a motorcycle test. He then became involved in the design and implementation of the motorcycle instructor and license test after studying at the Motorcycle Safety Foundation in America. Upon his return to South Africa in 1981, he launched the Motorcycle division of The Institute of Advanced Motorists (SA) and proceeded to implement heavy duty and specialised driver training for traffic officers and VIP chauffeurs. He then launched the BMW Driver Training centre at BMW's head office in Midrand. The next milestone was the launch of the AA Kyalami Driver Training at the Kyalami motor racing circuit. This was renamed the AA Total Driver Academy when Total became involved as a sponsor. He then launched SimuDrive and MasterDrive. SimuDrive specialised in simulated truck driver training and MasterDrive - which is still active - concentrates on Advanced Driver training as well as franchised learner driver training. Johnston's list of corporate clients include BP, Afrox, Shell, Anglo American, Early Bird Farm, Eskom, African Explosives Limited, Du Pont, SA Post Office, AVIS and Total - to name a few.