A Solution to the Carnage on our Roads

Yesterday, driving to work on the N1 south, and was passed by an old Toyota Cressida doing about 160 km/h. It was obvious that he had no regard for the rules of the road, because he was also talking on his cell phone.

This got me thinking… what will make this guy start driving responsibly? It was then that I realised that there is no incentive for people in South Africa to obey the rules of the road. There is a threat of a fine, but most people just adopt the attitude “It will never happen to me” or “If I get a fine I can just talk my way out of it”.

Before we can try to solve the problem, we have to ask ourselves what the role of the traffic department is. Is it to fine as many people as possible in order to achieve some kind of budget, or is it to ensure the safety of people on the road? As far as I am concerned, it is the latter. The traffic department should be responsible for ensuring the safety of people on the road.

Which brings me to my idea...What is the ultimate motivating factor that drives human beings? Incentive. Incentive is what drives us. It makes us wake up in the morning and get out of bed. So why not incentivise good driving habits?

This Easter, the police should pull over people who are travelling at the speed limit, stopping at stop streets, driving on the correct side of the road and reward them for obeying the rules.

The reward could be something as simple as “free road tax for a year” or a “free road worthy test”... or a police escort through the morning traffic! It would be like the lottery a 1 in 60 million chance of winning, but you still enter. That is you obey the rules of the road.

There would have to be some rules, like; if you have outstanding traffic fines you are excluded; if you get any traffic fines in the following 3 months you loose the benefit; etc...

Ok, so this idea screams “please abuse me”, but maybe it’s worth giving it a go. It’s time the traffic department started being proactive about road safety and not viewing it as a budget item that needs to be “achieved”