You can now learn how to drive indoors: a KZN software developer tells us how

The benefits of having a driving licence can’t be overestimated but it’s not easy to learn and pass that test.

Lessons can be expensive and driving on South African roads can be a scary business, whether you are a learner or an experienced driver.

Innocent Mathonsi (35) knows only too well what it’s like to leave university without a licence and then struggle to get it – and this is what motivated him to develop software for learner students and open Dunga Driving Simulation in Soweto.

Originally form KwaZulu-Natal, Innocent graduated from the University of Western Cape as an occupational therapist in 2010 and eventually got his license in 2016 after two attempts.

His experience got him thinking about how to make driving more accessible to young people.

“I thought it would be a great idea for learners to leave high school with their driver’s licences,” he says.

That way, people could concentrate on training for their jobs rather than worrying about driving licences, which would already be in hand.

“I am very passionate about how this can change the lives of young people,” he adds.

Over the last five years, he has tried to spark the interest of the department of basic education but the result has been a series of fruitless meetings and presentations.

“Government officials change so often it is hard to keep track. I have had meetings with the department at provincial level and at national level, but no luck. They will just have to catch up with me,” he says.

The Western Cape government had expressed some interest in his work, but in the end funding had to be redirected to deal with the coronavirus. 

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Innocent decided to move on without government and opened his driving simulation centre in Soweto to help people learn to drive in a safe and affordable way.

“It has not been an easy journey. I have business partner and together we have managed to get the components of the machines to be brought in from China. The components are then assembled here in South Africa and we install the software in them, including the South African map with local road signs,” Innocent explains.

He’s a firm believer that driving simulation can help people get this useful skill.

“For first time learner drivers, this can be beneficial because it takes away the fear they may have to be on the road.”

But it’s not just aimed at kids.

“My time in occupational therapy also opened my eyes to people’s needs in that sometimes after an accident, clients need to regain their skills in a safe and controlled environment.”

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And it seems to be working wonders. One of his students, Michael More (53) passed his licence on his first attempt last year.

“I was always very afraid to learn to drive because two of my cousins had been in car accidents before.  Also, I did not want the pressure that I usually see when learners are driving and other drivers shout or swear at them. But I finally did it last year because of the simulation car,” Michael says.

He had four lessons at Dunga for an hour each over a period of four days, then he spent two hours a day in a real car for three days, and then he went for the test.

“I was confident in the real car because everything looked familiar – that's why it was easy to pass,” he says.