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![Ford Everest and Ranger models are driven at the Ford Driving Skills For Life free course. [Image: News24, Dylan Lumpe]](https://cdn.24.co.za/files/Cms/General/d/11481/adcd088d3a4a4291b7e3bbea0a4ba124.jpg)
- The Ford Driving Skills for Life safety course was established in 2003.
- More than 1.5 million drivers in 46 countries have been trained to date.
- Road fatalities remain a cause for concern in South Africa, but Ford's safety course can help reduce those numbers.
Driving courses might sound like a lot of fun to most people, and almost everyone wants to get behind the wheel on a racetrack and learn to drive like The Stig.
Who wouldn't want to do high-performance driving and hone your skills? But not all courses are about speed; others, like the Ford Driving Skills for Life course, will teach you things you might not have ever known - and improve your skillset at the same time.
Just like charity and discipline start at home, so does driver safety. This specific programme teaches drivers of all ages the necessary skills for safe driving beyond what they already know.
Even though vehicle safety has grown in leaps over the decades, South Africa's road fatality statistics – specifically during busy holiday periods – remain a cause for concern.
READ | The Ford driving skills course every South African motorist should do
Based on information from Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga, the 2023/24 festive season road traffic statistics showed 1 184 fatal crashes recorded compared to 2022/23, when 1 212 crashes were recorded.
While driving under the influence of alcohol is a primary culprit, there are also other contributing factors to road accidents. This is where Ford's safety driving course plays a crucial part in educating motorists.
Established in 2003 by the Ford Motor Company Fund, the Governors Highway Safety Association and a panel of safety experts created the Ford Driving Skills for Life programme (Ford DSFL), which teaches drivers the necessary skills beyond what they learn in standard driving school programmes.
The concept behind the Ford DSFL course is to provide a step in the learning process, providing new skills and information not currently shared with newly licensed drivers in the basic driver education courses.
The course is free of charge and addresses the inexperience factor of (new and seasoned) drivers, issues surrounding distracted driving, and fuel-efficient driving tips.
The training focuses on five primary driving skills to keep up with new vehicle safety systems and emerging dangers on the road. They include hazard recognition, vehicle handling, speed and space management, and distracted and impaired driving.
At the event held this year at Killarney International Raceway, Cape Town, attendees will be behind the wheel of the latest-generation Ford Everest and Ranger vehicles.
Derek Kirkby, Training Director at MasterDrive, spoke to News24 Motoring about the aspects the course entails and how beneficial it is for a driver.
Kirkby says the course focuses on "Skills For Life": the life of drivers, vehicle occupants, other road users and the life of our planet. Its three structured components are unique in that they benefit safety, cost-saving, and the environment. "No manufacturer has 'hung their hat' on this peg in South Africa", he says.
Anyone attending would have big expectations, but they'll be surprised by what the course entails and just how much knowledge will come their way.
People generally expect to be driving fast cars around a racetrack and doing some skidpan training. But this is not what DSFL is about, says Kirkby. "Once the course starts with the audio-visual session, they soon realise that it is about being safe in everyday driving situations. And, what surprises them the most is that they are likely guilty of some form of unsafe driving.
"Most of the attendees' perceptions are that they never knew some of the info about driving and that they are now more aware when it comes to driving - and that alone can help significantly when you're behind the wheel," he says.
But what are some of our biggest problems with motorists on South African roads?
Kirkby says there are many challenges, but the biggest one is drivers still using their mobile devices while driving. "While some motorists use their hands-free kit while driving, the problem has been [being] distracted while driving, which is irrelevant to whether or not you use a hands-free kit, [or] your car's Bluetooth system.
"Concentration is the problem or lack thereof when you are engaging in conversation on your mobile device."
While DSFL doesn't necessarily improve driving skills, it does, however, highlight the dangers associated with driving, such as distractions, what happens if you and your passengers don't wear seatbelts, as well as identifying certain hazards on the road.
Hopefully, highlighting these things will make people drive better on our roads and be more considerate to other road users.
But Kirkby says his favourite part about the course is sharing vital information with drivers. "This way, we are making better and safer road users, and ultimately, this helps keep all of us safe", he says.
The course is conducted twice a year in Johannesburg and Cape Town and 130 News24 subscribers will attend a Driving Skills for Life course in Cape Town this Saturday, 23 March.
