The direct cost to the economy was recently estimated at R306-billion, which includes clearing accident scenes, hospital care, and police time. There are also the indirect costs of work hours lost, delayed delivery, and damaged cargos.

This cost is materialising in higher vehicle insurance premiums charged by insurance companies.

Road freight remains the preferred method of transportation for many South African companies, because in comparison to the rail industry, road transport still offers better availability, reliability, and cost efficiency.

“ Heavy vehicles are therefore integral to efficient supply chains. Without them, the supply chain would be compromised, as goods would not reach their markets timeously. Improving the safety record of this vital industry is clearly important. In essence,

having trucks on the road will always be beneficial to the country’ s economy. The large number of heavy vehicles on our roads makes it imperative that measures are put in place to reduce the number of accidents involving trucks,” says Arnoux Maré, managing director of Innovative Staffing Solutions. The company permanently employs over 7 500 employees, of which 5 500 are truck drivers who are outsourced to various transportation companies.

While no single approach can improve truck driver competency, there are solutions to reducing the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles. This includes

a combination of regular driver evaluation and corrective training, fleet technology monitoring systems, and close management of driver schedules to prevent fatigue and negligence.

“ The safety of our employees and our clients’ equipment is of the utmost importance to Innovative Staffing Solutions, which is why we constantly find new and innovative ways to improve driver competence. It is for this reason that our holding company recently invested in a Renault Kerax truck to conduct truck driver training for our own drivers and that of our clients. Our process allows us to train a driver