Road injuries are the world's leading cause of death for young people aged 15 to 29 years. That's a sobering thought, but the question is why? What are youngsters doing on the road that makes them more susceptible to crashes?
Taking risks, that's what, driving aggressively and impatiently, and flouting the most basic rules of safe driving - because that's what they've seen their role models - parents, teachers, law enforcement officers in uniform - doing throughout their formative years.
Aggressive or risky driving is responsible for up to 80 percent of road crashes and attitudes towards this type of driving are developed from an early age.
As the adult, your behaviour has a direct effect on the people around you, especially the young and impressionable. Have you ever considered what your child, quietly sitting on the back seat of your car, is absorbing when you swear at that taxi driver or 'flip him the bird'?
BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE RULES OF THE ROAD
The same goes for the taxi driver who blatantly disregards the rules of the road in order to get to his destination a few seconds earlier, the mom who is rushing to fetch her kids from school, or the businessman talking on his cellphone while driving. They're teaching their passengers and the people in the vehicles around them that disobeying the rules is somehow acceptable and at times even applauded.
According to the Automobile Association, this type of behaviour not only has a lasting effect on young passengers but it can also help perpetuate the culture of aggression that is taking over South African roads.
So pause for a moment, says AA spokesman Gary Ronald, and think about the example you are setting for those around you. Take a long, hard look at your own behaviour the next time you drive; you may not like what you see.
SETTING THE RIGHT EXAMPLE
1 Make buckling up (and that means everybody, including the peanut gallery) the first thing you do as soon as you get in the car. If you sit quietly and wait until the last belt clicks before you put the car in gear, they'll soon get the message.
2 Stay calm. Allowing your anger to get the better of you won't improve the situation; it'll just push your blood pressure up.
3 The same goes for foul language and rude hand gestures - is that how you want your children to behave in front of their grandparents? Because if they see you doing it in the car, they will.
4 Never drink and drive - not even one drink! - with children in the car, and don't let guests who've spent the evening partying at your place drive home, so that your children learn by example that drinking and driving just isn't cool.
5 Give the other guy a break - pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers have a right to be on the road as well.
6 Make your car a cell-free zone. Never mind hands-free kits, Bluetooth or whatever - when you're driving, do nothing but drive.
7 The same applies to misbehaving children. Pull off the road before you discipline the peanut gallery. Refer to Rule 2: If you switch off the ignition and wait quietly until your passengers behave themselves, they'll soon get the message.
8 Always obey the speed limit. Driving just a little faster than the signs your children are reading out loud is the most pervasive negative message of them all, on a par with being "just all little bit pregnant".
THE BUCK STARTS HERE
Road safety starts with the individual road user, says Ronald. It doesn't help to say it's somebody else's job - it will take an attitude adjustment on the part of every road user to set the right example for the next generation of drivers.
Next time you get into your car, try to drive as if you are making an instructional video - if you have kids in the car, you are. And even if you don't, you may change another driver's behaviour by setting a better example than you did yesterday.