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SA drivers: Shock survey result

CAPE TOWN - Earlier in 2013 Wheels24 reported on preliminary results fromthe  Goodyear’s 2012 Young Drivers Road Safety Survey that spanned 16 countries, among them South Africa, and focussed on the behaviour of drivers younger than 25.

Rules, it seems, are there to be broken, at least by many young South Africans, as the survey reveals that drivers' attitudes could be a contributing factor to the distressing number of road deaths.

Sadly our youngsters haven’t fared too well in the annual survey:
SA drivers 'easily distracted'
Need for speed: SA’s young drivers
SA young drivers 'too aggressive'

SA YOUNG DRIVERS PERFORM POORLY


Some of the most shocking findings from South African respondents may help to shed light on the country’s tragically high accident rate:

  • SA youngsters rank highest for driving after drinking alcohol (45% compared to a global 20%)
  • Highest in misbehaviour, including accelerating to make it through an orange traffic light (83%, global 73%) and weaving lane to lane to get ahead (48%, global 28%).
  • Highest in using a handheld cellphone while driving (61%,global 44%) and are similarly more likely to use their a smartphones while driving (65%, global 41%).
  • Highest for speeding (79%, global 66%) to Polish (81%) and topped the charts for disobeying traffic signals or signs (62%, global 39%).
  • South Africans are, in many instances, the most anxious behind the wheel, with 78% of respondents worried about breaking down in an unsafe area (45% global) and 71% afraid of being hijacked (38% global).
THE GOOD

It’s not all doom and gloom for our youth. The survey showed South Africans are particularly tyre savvy and scored highest for checking their tyre pressures regularly (81%, global 68%). They also scored higher than most for regularly checking their tread depth to ensure their tyres were not worn (73%, global 66%).

Interestingly, 50% of SA youths reported they were not taught to check tyre treads or how to change a tyre (23%, global 20%) while learning how to drive.

WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Goodyear says its survey results will enable it and its driver-training partners to identify areas in which greater awareness and education is needed. Lize Hayward, Goodyear SA's communications manager, said:  “Goodyear has extensive knowledge of many aspects of road safety. It is important for us to be able to share these insights with the very people responsible for driving education and we look forward to being able to deliver targeted information that can help to develop our youth into more confident and safer drivers.”

6400 people took part in the study. Participants were asked 20 questions acrosds five themes: driving education, road behavior, lifestyle, society, seasonal preparation.

Wheels24 reader FIONA SEEDAT shared her thoughts on the state of young SA drivers.

Email us and we’ll publish your thoughts on Wheels24!
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