A Growing Concern

With over 14,000 fatalities and countless injuries annually, road accidents in South Africa pose a significant threat to public safety. These incidents not only result in tragic loss but also impose a substantial economic burden of R150 billion per year.

FleetMax Africa, a South African transport consultancy, brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the DriveSMART campaign. Led by Ashref Ismail, a seasoned professional with over 20 years in road safety education, traffic management, and law enforcement, the company’s team of qualified individuals will contribute to the development of effective training programs.

The DriveSMART Campaign

Suzuki will provide two Grand Vitara GLX models to be used in training programs across South Africa and the production of road safety videos. These videos, ranging from two to three minutes in length, will cover a wide range of topics, including defensive driving, vehicle maintenance, and other essential road safety practices.

The goal of the DriveSMART campaign is to create shareable content that can be disseminated through social media channels and partner networks.

According to the data provided, nationally, all types of vehicles saw substantially more trips towards the end of last week. However, passenger vehicle activity has the most notable change: from 15 to 17 April people did 40% of the trips they did before lockdown, a significant increase from only 22% of pre-lockdown trips done at the same time the previous week.

Stops at shopping centres and service stations also showed this uptick trend, almost doubling on Thursday last week from the prior week.

More citizens might be on the road as an ease in regulations allows for additional essential and urgent services during the extended lockdown period. However, such a significant increase in vehicle movement over the past few days more likely indicates a negative shift in compliance to lockdown rules, particularly as the increase in movement started ahead of Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s regulations amendments announcement.

It’s feasible that people had bought enough to get them through the initial 21-day lockdown,” says Linda Reid, Head of Data for Lightstone. “However, with that period coming to an end, it’s possible that their supplies were running out, resulting in higher volumes of people needing to shop at the end of last week.”