In the latest available global statistics, South Africa ranks third highest in the fatality rate per 10 000 vehicles. A sobering enough thought, but just this week CARS (Committee Form More Road Safety) revealed that a new study suggests that our road death toll has been under-estimated by more than half. While the Department of Transport gives a figure of 10 000 each year, CARS says in reality it is nearer 18 000.
So if your experience of handing over the keys to your newly licensed teenager was more one of panic than mere trepidation, know this – you have every right to be concerned. Grant McCleery, a multiple SA motorsport champion, who heads up Yokohama Driving Dynamics, has been teaching specialised driving skills for nearly two decades and in his opinion, every man, woman and especially teenager, needs more than just basic driver training to ensure their safety on our road.
He says: “The K53 driver training system is a great way to learn the basics, but you need more sophisticated skills to deal with the unexpected, like avoiding collisions, regaining control of your vehicle, recovering from aquaplaning, or even just braking properly in an emergency. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of these skills as the exclusive domain of racing drivers. Your child needs to know this stuff if he or she is going to get around safely on our roads.”
Of course as a parent you know that you can’t tell a teenager anything! Rather, you need to equip them with the skills and doing so is easier than you may have thought. Yokohama Driving Dynamics offers a range of one-day courses that will teach your child these essential driving skills. A level 1 Advanced Driving Skills Course makes a novel birthday or graduation present and thereafter, they can build on it with Levels 2 and 3, of courses like 4x4 driving, hijack prevention, self-protection and more.
McCleery concludes: “We can’t eliminate the problem, but we can minimise it, if more people made the effort to become ‘advanced drivers’. The courses are after all designed for the ordinary person who gets behind the wheel of a car every day and ventures into the general chaos that prevails on our roads.”
Yokohama Driving Dynamics has an alliance with General Motors South Africa – its preferred vehicle supplier – to ensure that clients get the very best instruction in quality driving and safety. The fleet of cars includes Corsa OPC, Chevrolet Lumina, New Cruzes, Aveo and a full range of Isuzu 4x4’s.
Yokohama Driving Dynamics is based at Gerotek Vehicle Test Facility near Pretoria and also offers its courses at a variety of venues, countrywide.
STORY BY YOKOHAMA DRIVING DYNAMICS
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