As South Africa observes Transport Month this October, the Retail Motor Industry Organisation (RMI) is calling for greater focus on one of the most fundamental elements of road safety: the conditionof the vehicles using the country’s roads.

Millions of South Africans rely on vehicles every day to get to work, school, medical appointments and businesses. Whether travelling by taxi, bus, truck or private vehicle, every road user shouldbe able to trust that the vehicle they are travelling in is safe and fit for purpose.

For the automotive aftermarket, this responsibility is particularly important.

“The road safety challenge is complex and there is no single solution, but the condition of the vehicle itself has to be part of the conversation,” says Ipeleng Mabusela, CEO of the RMI. “Everyvehicle that enters a workshop, testing station or body repair facility presents an opportunity to ensure that it is maintained, repaired and returned to the road safely.”

A vehicle-first approach

South Africa’s vehicle parc is ageing, with the average vehicle estimated to be approximately 10.8 years old. As vehicles get older, regular maintenance and proper assessment become increasinglyimportant in ensuring that they remain safe and roadworthy.

The RMI has consistently advocated for the introduction of Periodic Vehicle Testing as an additional intervention to improve road safety. The organisation believes that regular assessment ofvehicles would provide an important layer of protection for motorists, passengers and other road users, while helping to address the economic and social consequences of road crashes.

The estimated annual cost of road crashes in South Africa is around R205 billion, while the country continues to record close to 12,000 road deaths annually.

“We need to take a vehicle-first approach to road safety,” says Mabusela. “The largest segment of our vehicle parc is also among those presenting significant risk, yet it remains the least regulated.Regular assessment of vehicles would help identify safety-related defects before they become a danger on our roads.”

Regulation is however only one part of the solution.

Skills are central to vehicle safety

As vehicles become older and more technologically sophisticated, the skills required to maintain and repair them are changing rapidly.

Modern vehicles increasingly incorporate advanced driver assistance systems, complex electronic control systems and electric and alternative powertrains. This means technicians need to continuallyupdate their knowledge and skills to work safely and competently on the vehicles coming into workshops.

“You cannot have safe vehicles without skilled people maintaining and repairing them,” says Mabusela. “Skills development, professional standards and compliance are therefore not separate fromroad safety – they are fundamental to it.”

The RMI and its seven associations continue to support skills development and professionalisation across the aftermarket, while promoting standards and compliance that give consumers greaterconfidence when entrusting their vehicles to an automotive business.

Collaboration matters

Transport Month also provides an opportunity for the broader transport and automotive sectors to engage on the issues that will shape the future of mobility and road safety.

“For an industry undergoing such rapid technological change, collaboration is increasingly important,” says Mabusela. “We need to share knowledge, challenge assumptions and find practical solutionsthat work for the industry and, ultimately, for the people who depend on it.”

For motorists, the issue comes down to trust.

They need confidence that when they take their vehicle to a professional workshop, the work will be done correctly; that technicians have the appropriate skills; that businesses operate accordingto recognised standards; and that the industry takes its responsibility for road safety seriously.

“Transport Month reminds us that every vehicle carries more than a driver,” says Mabusela. “It carries families, employees, customers and communities. The quality of the work performed on thatvehicle can therefore have consequences far beyond the workshop floor.”

“As an industry, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to make every journey safer. The conversations taking place during Transport Month are important, but the real measure will be whatwe do with those conversations afterwards,” he concludes.