Rayguns don't kill Zorks. Zorks kill Zorks...
AN INTERESTING letter to The Star arrived from Chris Crozier of Sandton. Crozier was pointing out that with the national road death toll at about 10000 per annum, the "holiday" death toll was actually less than the national daily average.
"This is not a seasonal horror story, but an everyday issue," Crozier says. "My observation is that generally, the death toll over the holiday period is less than the daily average, which is to be expected.
"It's not that I'm indifferent to carnage, but I believe it is being perverted to fill newspaper, radio, and TV time. The real horror is that you could start your count on any day of the year, and after two weeks, you would have a count of over 400 deaths."
Crozier bemoaned sloppy reporting about holiday deaths, citing two reports on the same page, one of which claimed alcohol was implicated in 15% of road deaths, the other which claimed alcohol was implicated in 65% of road deaths.
"At least one of these was wildly wrong," Crozier commented.
Good points, all told. They serve to underline the general sense of misguided hysteria surrounding holiday deaths.
At the top of the list is the hysteria surrounding high-speed travel. Much has been made of the fact that speedsters have been clocked through the Ladysmith segment of the N3 at over 200 km/h. Nearly all of these incidents involve expensive German cars.
What has been ignored is that the modern Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or VR6 has been designed to travel safely at these speeds on German autobahns which have no speed limits.
More importantly, a new low-end BMW with computer assisted anti-lock brakes, independent suspension, low profile high speed tyres and five-year full maintenance contract is safer at 200km/h than a minibus taxi overloaded, with worn retreads and shock absorbers, and aerodynamically unstable loads strapped to the roof at 100km/h.
Slam on the brakes on one of those mobile deathtraps and the wheels lock, sending the vehicle spinning madly out of control. The weight from the roof luggage kicks in, toppling the vehicle. As it capsizes, passengers are flung about the cabin, smashing heads against the ceilings. Of course they are not wearing seatbelts.
In the event of a head-on collision, there is no safety crumple zone to the front. Even at speeds as low as 40km/h, collisions will be fatal.
The Americans have the right attitude towards ensuring that vehicles are safe. Annual vehicle inspections are mandatory in most states.
You drive your car through an inspection centre where, in the space of five minutes, inspectors check brakes, exhaust emissions, shock absorbers, safety belts, steering and just about everything else. You are also required to produce your driver's licence, vehicle registration and proof of insurance.
For minor infractions, the vehicle gets a reinspection sticker, allowing you to drive the vehicle for one month while the problem is attended to. Serious problems, and the vehicle is condemned. You are forced to call for a tow-truck. Does it work? Absolutely. It's almost impossible for a stolen vehicle to remain in circulation for more than 11 months. Unlicensed drivers, unregistered and uninsured vehicles are caught at the same time.
Our Minister of Transport needs to get his house in order. Speed checks should be strictly enforced in urban areas. Speed limits in suburbs should be reduced to about 30 km/h. Any scumflagon who drives carelessly in areas where kids could be playing should be drawn and quartered.
But speed limits on our modern high-speed freeways should be realistic. The Free State and Tugela stretches of the N3 are among the safest in the world for high-speed travel.
If unsafe vehicles are kept off the road by regular inspections, if the media is drafted into a campaign to educate people on how to drive on freeways, if people who hog the fast lane are prosecuted, the death toll will come down.
And remember, Mr Maharaj, inspection centres will create employment too.