Driving Home For Christmas

Right now, I am on a plane to Cape Town where I will meet my father and sisters for Christmas vacation.

Usually, flying is considered one of the more dangerous methods of transport, but recently I have wondered whether this is actually true... The most dangerous part of a flight are usually take-off and landing; once you’re in the air, you’re fairly safe. In cars on the other hand, driving is by far the most dangerous part of the journey and even if you obey all rules, there may well be a Muppet on the street who does not...

This is particularly true in South Africa and even more so during the Christmas period: Muppets everywhere!

South Africa has one of the highest road accident rates in the world with over 14 000 deaths per year; the accident rate of minibus taxis is almost twice as high as that of any other form of passenger transport.

In light of this, it just seems right and appropriate that South Africa has introduced stricter fines for traffic offenders. Just last month a driver was fined R44 000 (when the average monthly income is around R5 000) for travelling 206km/h in a 120km/h zone. Government is also considering reducing the national speed limit from 120km/h to 100km/h.

But because regulations do not seem to be enough to save lives (and the economy an estimated R56 m per year) South Africa recently “celebrated” a National Day of Prayer for Road Safety. On this day, South Africans were reminded that it was their responsibility to “fight against road carnage” by driving slower, getting their cars serviced and... calling upon their guardian angels.

Looking at recent figures, this has so far been largely unsuccessful or divine intervention has been delayed due to Christmas. In December alone, over 800 people have already died in traffic accidents due to high speed, dangerous driving, overloading and fatigue. In some parts of the country police have even started to stop taxis and check whether drivers are sufficiently awake (!) to drive!

Good thing I am flying home for Christmas...

PS: Good thing unless you are flying with South Africa’s newest low-cost airline Santaco, which was recently launched by... the National Taxi Council! Please fasten your seatbelt!