About RSAA
Road Safety Awareness Africa (RSAA) is a Non-Profit, civil society organisation (150-522 NPO), established by people who have been directly affected by a road traffic crash, either through the loss of a loved one or as a victim themselves.
We advocate for road safety and create broader awareness among our communities in South Africa, the African Continent and beyond, about the magnitude of the road traffic injury problem and the main factors which place people at risk. This is because road traffic trauma affects individuals, friends and families, and ultimately the entire community we live in.
For us, road safety is a deeply personal issue, our testimonies is what we strongly believe can help to convey a sense of urgency. We are oriented towards road safety research and policy influence.
Why Road Safety?
Every single South African should know and understand that our country has one of the worst road safety records in the world, losing over 40 people a day to traffic crashes, with a further 20 being left permanently disabled and several hundred suffering serious injuries.
Globally road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for youth aged between 10 and 24 years. Of the 1.2 million people who lose their lives in road traffic crashes each year, almost a third of them are youth under the age of 25 years.
Dangerous roads have significant impacts on developmental objectives – especially because of the immense economic and social cost of road crashes. Road accidents cost the South African economy an estimated R133 billion annually, which has a significant effect on other needs such health, education, housing, job creation initiatives, water and electricity production and other state expenses.
Most of these crashes (reliably estimated at 90% plus) are unnecessary and occur due to law infringement. It is the responsibility of every single citizen to ensure their own, their families and their community safety.
The challenges in addressing road safety in South Africa are primarily those of human behaviour i.e. a lack of knowledge of the rules of the road, and willingness to abide by those rules.
The National Government is on a quest to ensure a sustained, coordinated approach to the battle against road carnage; the Department of Transport has embarked on a 365 day road safety programme.
Taking inspiration from this program as well as the Global Plan, RSAA has developed extensive plans and awareness campaigns for the second half of the Decade, being 2015 to 2020.
Goal
To reduce fatalities on the roads of South Africa by 50% by 2020.
Vision
Safe and efficient road transport, contributing to economic growth and development, through improved cooperation and compliance from road users, the business and NGO community and public and private sector interventions.
Mission
Through our commitment to reach all road users, utilizing systems based approach of education, enforcement, engineering and evaluation to change attitude and behaviour and reduce fatalities.
Board of Directors
Buhle Dlamini is a Wits University Bcom graduate who then completed his articles towards qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG, within the Energy and Natural Resources Division. His experience and knowledge during his 3-year training contract was obtained from entities such as Sasol, Lonmin Plc, Natref, Samancor, Ferrometals, and Kuyasa Mining, to mention a few.
He then joined Sekoko Resources (Pty) Ltd as Group Financial Accountant; Sekoko is a mineral resources company which is part of the Waterberg Coal Joint Venture Project that is dual listed on the (ASX) and (JSE).
He was subsequently appointed the Chief Executive Offier and is a Founding Director of the Tim Tebeila Foundation (TTF) a Non-Profi organisation that creates a platform for sustainable businesses and job creation among the youth. The Tim Tebeila Foundation, since its inception in 2009, has become a powerful vehicle to promote youth development and support the most vulnerable groups in terms of youth education and pensioners’ needs. He was instrumental in introducing a programmatic approach to giving which includes streamlining key focus areas, such as education, leadership development, youth entrepreneurship and poverty eradication to support the National Development Plan to eliminate poverty and inequality by 2030.
He is the Co-Founder and Chairman of DTX Capital, a company formed through experience and expertise in the South African mining Industry specializing in advisory on Governance, Compliance and Risk Management. Buhle is the Secretary General of the Progressive Professionals Forum (PPF) Johannesburg Region, a National Executive Council member of the Progressive Youth in Business serving a the Head of Manufacturing and also serves as a Director of Career Guidance Development (Pty) Ltd.
Eugene Nzula is a qualifid educational development professional with extensive experience in managing and leading educational programmes; having commenced his career in 1999 with the Palabora Foundation. The Foundation is a Trust that is wholly funded by the Palabora Mining Company (PMC), working to develop local communities in the Phalaborwa area of the Limpopo Province of South Africa with a major focus on school and teacher development.
He later joined the Management of Schools Training Programme (MSTP) in 2002 as a School Development Facilitator working in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North West, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces to uplift the standard of educational achievement in disadvantaged contexts.
This was then followed by a seven year stint from 2007 with the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership & Governance (a subsidiary of the Gauteng Department of Education), where he also worked towards the improvement and provision of quality of education, particularly in school leadership and teacher development. His experience in the NGO sector is a major advantage RSAA with regards to educational content development and governance.
He possesses a Higher Diploma in Education (H.Dip.Ed) and a Bachelor of Education Honours (Educational Management, Law and Policy) Degree.
Leruo Shabangu studied Projects Management through Damelin, a private higher education institution registered with the Department of Higher Education in South Africa. She also completed a course in Political Studies at the Walter Sisulu Academy and is currently studying African and International Trade at the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute.
Her employment career commenced in 2003 as an events coordinator working for Remba Connections, her portfolio of clients included IBM, Woolworths, the ICC Cricket Word Cup and many more. She gained abundant experience in Project Management, Corporate Communications and Public Relations when she joined forces with Morris Roda Productions, where she was instrumental in the success of large-scale events such as:
The Annual Divas Concert that featured international artists such as the following:
Joe Thomas, Tamia, Lauren Hill, Ashanti, Regina Bell, Chante More, John Legend,Kenny Lattimore, Akon, K-Ci and Jojo, Genuwine, and Keith Sweat.
She founded Nkanyezi Events Solutions in 2010; an events management and integrated communications company, focusing on market analysis, trends and developing an innovative thinking, whose service offering includes:
- CAMPAIGN ACTIVATIONS
- TRADE EXHIBITIONS
- LIFESTYLE CONCEPTS
- EXPORT AND IMPORT PROCEDURES
- PRODUCT LAUNCHES
- AWARDS CEREMONIES
- CONFERENCES
- TEAM BUILDING EVENTS
She has had the privilege of working with clients such as the Department of Sports Arts &Culture, MTN, and SAFA, to mention a few.
Road Safety
Objectives
- Draw attention to road safety generally;
- Advocate for and harness political will to address road safety;
- Correct public misconceptions about the causes and preventability of road traffic crashes;
- Promote changes in current national policies and programmes regarding both prevention and services, including rehabilitation for physical and psychological trauma;
- Convey messages to the general public about the need to change specific behaviours;
- Build effective partnerships and coalitions locally and globally
- Partner with public and private sector organisations to equip society with life-long transferrable skills, project management, communication and advocacy skills, in order to organize effective road safety campaigns
- Increase funding for policies and programmes to support road safety and road traffic injury victims;
- Collect and analyse data and conduct research, so as to enable more reliable estimates to be made of the global burden of road traffic injuries, especially in developing countries.
- Generate a demand for road safety from the public.
Focus
Speed
- Speed influences both crash risk & crash consequence.
- “Excess speed” – a vehicle exceeding the relevant speed limit.
- “Inappropriate speed” - a vehicle travelling at a speed unsuitable for the prevailing road and traffic conditions.
Modern Cars have high rates of acceleration & can easily reach very high speeds in short distances. Empirical evidence from speed studies – Show an increase of 1km/h in mean traffic speed typically results in a 3% increase in the incidence of injury crashes.
Alcohol
From an investigation of studies conducted in low-income countries, it emerged that alcohol was present in between 33% & 69% of fatally-injured drivers; and In between 8% & 29% of drivers involved in crashes who were not fatally injured (Globally). It was found that alcohol was a factor in around 29% of non-fatally-injured drivers; and in over 47% of fatally injured drivers in South Africa. A study in the United Kingdom concluded that 48% of pedestrians killed in road traffic collisions had been drinking, & 39% of fatalities were over the legal BAC limit.
Hand-held Mobile Devices
Results of studies on distraction & mental load show that driver reaction times are increased by 0.5 – 1.5 seconds when talking on a mobile phone. Driver performance is particularly affected in maintaining the correct lane position & the headway between 2 vehicles travelling one behind the other, in keeping appropriate speed, & judging & accepting safe gaps in the traffic . Drivers on mobile phones face the risk of a crash 4 times higher than those who do not use them.
Fatigue
Studies have shown that drivers don’t fall asleep without warning. Drivers who fall asleep at the wheel have often tried to fight drowsiness by opening a window, or turning up the radio. This however, doesn’t work for long. Research suggests that almost 20% of accidents on major roads are sleep-related. Sleep-related accidents are more likely than others to result in a fatality or serious injury. Peak Times for accidents occur frequently in the early hours and after lunch. Approximately 40% of sleep-related accidents involve commercial vehicles. Men under 30 have demonstrated the highest risk of falling asleep at the wheel.
Research
Among the many research-related needs for road injury prevention, the following are some of the more pressing:
Better collection and analysis of data, so as to enable more reliable estimates to be made of the global burden of road traffic injuries, especially in developing countries. This includes mortality data, conforming to internationally-standardized definitions, and data on acute morbidity and long-term disability. There should also be more research to find low-cost methods of obtaining these data.
Further data on the economic and social impacts of road traffic injuries, especially in South Africa and the Continent at large, mainly because we feel that, the cost of injuries is not known empirically; neither is the cost nor cost-effectiveness of interventions.
Studies demonstrating the effectiveness of specific interventions for injuries and how best to assess the effectiveness of packages of road safety measures.
How successfully various types of preventive measures can be transferred between countries with differing socioeconomic conditions and differing rates of motorization and traffic mixes.
Training
We have partnered with a dedicated team of Driver Education and Safety Awareness Practitioners that are capable of supplying and customizing any course to suit any companies’ or individual’s needs. This is to ensure that we to offer a variety of core products and provide added value services to a large customer base, to influence better driving habits and awareness skills in drivers on our roads.
We Specialise In The Following Training Services:
- Defensive Driver Training Course
- Hijack Management
- Pre-Employment Assessments
- Eco Driver Training
- AARTO (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offenses)
- Skidpan (Wet weather training) Perfect for a Fun Day Out
- SkidMonster
- 4x4 Driving Techniques and Gravel Road Driving
- Truck Roll Over Prevention Training
- Remedial Training
- Online Risk Assessments
- Woman’s safety course
- Teen Programs
- Crash Investigation
- Wellness in the Driving Space
- 1st Aid and Fire Fighting
- Instructor Training, Train the Trainer programs AND MORE!
Locations:
- Johannesburg
- Durban
- Cape Town
- East London
- Richards Bay
- Swaziland
- George
Also View:
Road Traffic Management Corporation
Arrive Alive Online Report 2014
Get There No Regrets and Road Safety
South Africans Against Drunk Driving (SADD)
Wheel Well and Road Safety
Drive More Safely
Also view:
Road Safety Awareness among our young Football Stars