Cape Town - When Alida Jones-Venter’s son Tommie was killed in a head-on collision involving a drunk driver just before his 21st birthday, she had two choices: “I could die with him, or I could take action to try to ensure that no other family suffered in the same way as mine did.”
After struggling to get closure after her son’s death in the accident in which all involved died leaving nobody to question about the whys and wherefores of the collision, Jones-Venter decided to form Drive More Safely, a non-profit organisation dedicated to reducing road-accident fatalities through campaigns.
“I’m a mother who lost her eldest son to a road crash with a drunk driver. I walk the hurt and devastation every single day of my life,” Jones-Venter said.
She started the organisation in 2009, thirteen years after her son was killed, and since then she and the organisation have garnered a number of awards, including the Lead SA Hero mention in 2012 for her “child safety in the vehicle” campaign.
On Monday, Drive More Safely will be launching #ProjectAWARD (A Day Without A Road Death), and every day for a month the organisation will be raising awareness of road accidents and fatalities, before urging all road users to participate in a day’s observance of traffic rules on October17.
“We have chosen to have our day on October17, which falls in our national Transport Month,” she said.
On Monday marked the start of the National Child Passenger Safety Campaign, which aims to educate all South African road users on the importance of securing all children under the age of 12 in either a safely installed car seat or booster seat.
Debbie Bilson, the operations director for car seat manufacturer Maxi-Cosi, said: “Only 7% of South African children are secured in car seats when travelling in a vehicle, while 77% of car seats are incorrectly installed.”
JP Smith, the Mayco member for safety and security, said: “We have lobbied for stronger action to be taken against reckless and negligent drivers.
“And the City is eagerly awaiting finalisation of the amended Provincial Traffic Act to address driver behaviour.”
@MwangiGithahu