THE STATISTICS show road accidents in South Africa are not decreasing.
Crashes this past year amounted to R300 billion in costs alone, but the human suffering is worse. More than 150 000 people were badly injured, 8 500 paralysed and 18 000 died on our roads this year.
Speak to any Mzansi driver and they quickly say exactly who causes the problems but will never admit it could be them.
Keith Cunningham is the head of Driver Assess, an online emotional intelligence training aimed at educating and profiling drivers about the road and how to drive safely. Keith said he had the same attitude before he started Driver Assess.
“Like other drivers, I thought I was never reckless or got into rages. But road rage doesn’t just mean trying to start a fight. It includes driving with dangerous aggression which includes sudden acceleration, braking too close to the car in front, cutting others off in a lane or deliberately preventing someone from merging into a lane.
“Road rage also includes chasing other road users, flashing your lights, ramming your palm into your hooter, yelling or showing rude gestures at others.
“This behaviour leads to fights and even death.”
If you think you are immune to this bad behaviour then you are not being realistic.
“The first step is to admit that you drive badly and that it cannot be blamed on others. You must take the blame yourself.
“Only by admitting you are a problem driver can you slowly become aware of how badly you drive.
“Once you are aware you will be able to recognise your bad driving habits and then work on them, change them and become a better, safer driver.”
The assessment is designed to do just this through a series of steps with advice and help along the way.
“You start by answering a questionnaire which helps show you all the issues that you never knew were driving your attitude behind the wheel.
“The high number of South African road accidents is something that affects us all. The injuries and fatalities are unnecessary and this is a problem that you and other drivers can change.”
For more information on Driver Assess visit driverassesslive.com