Learners advocate for safer roads

Two teams have been chosen to represent the Western Cape at the annual Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) national schools road safety debating competition to be held in Bloemfontein in September. About 50 Grade 10 and 11 learners from eight urban and rural schools took part in the provincial leg of the competition held in Brackenfell on 25 May. The top five debaters from urban schools and the top five from rural schools will represent the province in the urban and rural categories. The top five from special needs schools will be chosen at an event later this year.

Participating schools in the urban category were: Bloekombos High and Bernadino Heights High (Kraaifontein), and Sizimisele Technical High (Khayelitsha). The winners who will go on to form the urban team at the nationals are: Asahlume Mguli (Bloekombos), Siya Ngcongolo (Sizimisele), and Jaden Smith, Chesney Pasquallie and Jule Booysen (Bernadino).

Participating schools in the rural category were: Ilingelethu Secondary (Malmesbury), Makapula High (Stellenbosch), Khayamandi High (Stellenbosch) and Vredenburg High (Vredenburg). The winners who will go on to represent the province in the rural category are: Sinalo Ndleleni, Vinneke Booysen and Nompie Sandla (Vredenburg), and Simamkele Booi and Anelisa Mnombeni (Ilingelethu).

Participants debated four topics: 1) whether South Africa will be able to meet the United Nations goal of reducing road fatalities by 50% by 2030; 2) whether youth is a contributing factor to the high rate of road crashes; 3) whether driving licences should be revoked at the age of 66; and 4) whether road safety education can, on its own, ensure that road users adhere to the rules of the road. (As background to the third topic, the “three Es” of road safety are education, engineering and enforcement.)

This RTMC debating competition started in 2005 to boost road safety awareness among high school learners, and to encourage competition participants to act as road safety ambassadors.