Have you ever confessed to your bad driving? 

by Russell Pollitt SJ

Imagine being a parent, getting up early, preparing lunches and whatever else is needed for your child’s school day, then sending your child off to school, not knowing you will never see them alive again. This was the reality for parents in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, earlier this week. This tragic incident, in which twelve children lost their lives in a taxi accident, serves as a poignant reminder of the devastating consequences of reckless driving. We grieve with the parents and families of these children lost so unnecessarily and tragically. 

In the aftermath of the accident, there was a surge of social media posts showcasing law enforcement agencies' efforts to enforce compliance with scholar transport regulations. However, we must acknowledge that reactive, “visible” measures (such as multiple roadblocks) alone are insufficient to address the pervasive road-safety issue in South Africa.

The prevailing culture of irresponsible driving, characterised by dangerous manoeuvres such as ignoring red lights and stop signs, reckless overtaking, illegal U-turns, driving on shoulders or sidewalks to push in at intersections, or driving contra-flow into head-on traffic when there are backups, reflects a broader societal disregard for road laws and basic courtesy. Whilst taxis are often culprits, they are not alone; more and more people are showing scant regard for any conventional road rules. 

Despite sporadic enforcement efforts, like roadblocks, we are failing to address the systemic roots of the recurring fatalities on South African roads: the moral failure of drivers and the lack of consistent and effective law enforcement. 

Many drivers do as they please; they flout the laws with impunity because they anticipate minimal repercussions for disregarding established norms and rules of the road that ultimately are meant to save lives. If drivers are unlikely to be held accountable, lawlessness becomes widespread. 

Operating a motor vehicle must be seen as a moral act. It is not merely a practical convenience or source of income, as in the case of taxis. It imposes upon drivers a grave responsibility: to safeguard human life. If you are not willing to drive in a way that protects life, you should not be given the privilege of driving. The bottom line is: until South Africans choose to drive in accordance with the laws of the road, we will continue to see these tragedies. 

The other dimension to this is enforcement. It is not uncommon to see traffic officials sitting in their vehicles, oblivious to or watching lawlessness unfold. Often, officers are seen relaxing in their cars, staring at their phones or chatting with each other on street corners. We need proactive traffic officials. Unless drivers have the conviction that they are being scrutinised and will be sanctioned for bad driving, recklessness will continue. This includes knowing that a bribe will not get me off the hook. 

The way we drive reflects something more profound: the state of our ethical or moral status as a country. The way we use the roads gives any visitor a sense of the country's moral “temperature.” 

What happened to the children earlier this week should be a wake-up call for all road users. This tragedy is a stark mirror that we should all stare into and ask: Does the way I drive endanger my life and that of others? Put in another way, for those of us who claim to be Christian: do I take my driving seriously enough to make sure it is regularly part of my examination of conscience? When was the last time I confessed and sought absolution for reckless driving, paying a bribe, or accepting a bribe?