The queues in stationery and uniform shops, as well as the faces of glum scholars waiting to have their holiday hair shorn by the barber, signal the end of the summer holidays and the official back-to-school start of the year.
But with it returns the danger our children face on the roads as millions of our young ones pile into public transport or walk kilometres to get to their classrooms.
An advert placed by the Road Accident Fund in the Sunday Times at the weekend was a spine-chilling reminder of the perils children face on a daily basis as they drove home the fact that “your child’s number 1 essential back-to-school item can’t be found in any store” ... “because securing their future starts with teaching all children important skills on how to stay safe on our roads”.
Let that sink in.
The RAF, which collects at least R43bn from the fuel levy each year, and owes almost R10bn to claimants, is issuing the warning, knowing that the road to compensation is paved in hell.
One of the reasons for this is the draft amendments gazetted by transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga in September last year, which are intended to help the cash-strapped state entity, which posted an R8.4bn deficit for the 2022/23 financial year.
The amendments would remove the right of drivers, passengers and pedestrians to claim compensation. Victims would receive zero compensation for general damages — including pain and suffering, and disfigurement — no matter how serious their injuries are.
They will also not be paid for past and future medical expenses, loss of income or earning potential. Instead, they will receive an unspecified “social benefit”.
Lump sum payments would fall away and more structured instalments would be introduced.
Pedestrians crossing a highway, as well as their dependents, would be excluded. If the proposals become law, the fund will also not compensate hit-and-run victims.
Last year paramedics responded to hundreds of minibus taxi crashes, ferrying children to or from school with several dozen being injured in the first week of school. There were also dozens of incidents involving pedestrian scholars that were killed or injured walking to or from school.
In many of these instances, lives and millions of rand in medical bills could have been saved if road safety rules were observed.
This comes ahead of a warning on Monday by the Road Traffic Management Corporation highlighting the critical importance for all scholar transport operators to prioritise the roadworthiness of their vehicles.
It is up to scholar transport operators to ensure their vehicles are licensed and that their vehicles comply with all safety protocols and road regulations.
But the buck doesn’t stop there.
It is up to parents to ensure that they hold drivers, owners and their vehicles to the highest standards of adherence.
Before any parents signs a deal with an operator and forks out hard-earned cash every month, parents or guardians are well within their rights to know what vehicle their child is riding in, how many other children are in the vehicle, when last it was serviced and whether the driver has the proper authority and accreditation to be transporting children.
Before any parents signs a deal with an operator and forks out hard-earned cash every month, parents or guardians are well within their rights to know what vehicle their child is riding in, how many other children are in the vehicle, when last it was serviced and whether the driver has the proper authority and accreditation to be transporting children.
And there is nothing stopping the school from getting involved — allocating a reception teacher or security guard to keep an eye out that taxis ferrying children to and from school are yielding to the proper protocols, is an added layer of protection.
As the RAF cogently points out, like the stationery and uniform checklist parents and pupils need to follow, all stakeholders need to tick off the security and safety measures and rules of the road to ensure children get to school every day.
Given our rainy weather all over the country, it is imperative that drivers keep to the speed limit and ensure that their windscreen wipers are working.
These proactive measures are pivotal in preventing the loss of innocent lives.
And if these measures sound harsh and pedantic, consider the alternative of burying our children or seeing them in pain. We owe it to our children to do better and take their safety seriously.
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