The brakelights in

foontofvouburn
red.You-curse and
pqnchthe steering
wheel.Moments
agoyouwere fly-
ing downthe high-
wAV.Nowvou're
stuckin a flacial
creepof exhaust
fumes.Ybuwork
the pedals.Metre
bypreciousmetre
you crawl along.
Thenvouseeif.
The ciash.
Red ambulance lights illuminate it iike The World Health Organisation believes He reachesoverand turns down the radio.
somegrim disco.As you drive by,images itwillbe the world'sthird leading causeof His Subaru idles with that deeprumble that
flash like a strobe light: the Jaws oflife, death by 2020.It will claim more lives than flows in through the ears and pours down to
a fireman'sboot,a silver spaceblanket, HIV/Aids, malaria and somecancers.fn the stomach.Another sharp screech.He looks
shatteredglass...You think about the SouthAfrica, roughly 15 000 peopledie on again. This time, he seesthe truck.
victims, about how quickly a life can the roadseachyear.A death everyhour. Deepin his brain, microscopiclightning
be crushedwhen metalfists collide. Ifyouthinkyou can afford to ignore the flashes.Fear.His bodyreacts:a rush ofbloodto
The road finally opensup and you odds,meetJohn Coetzee,whoseturn almost the muscles,a floodofadrenaline, a sharpening
speedaway.But what ifyou could stop, cameon the morning of20 April2009. of senses.Ilow can a truck pich up somuch
freeze the frame and look closer?You John hears the screechofbrakes and speedin peah-hourtraffic? he wonders.
would seethatthe mangledheapof looks into the rear-view mirror. Cars stop He catchessight oftwo petrol tankers
metal represents a hidden global epidemic. behind him as the N3 highway chokesunder boxing him in - oneto the right, onein front.
Adarkkiller. the strain of another morning rush. There'snowhere to go.The l8-wheeler is out

1 34 A P RIL 20 11

ofcontrol, hurtlingtowards him like a 30-ton
bowlingball.
The truck driver realises there's no way
to stop. He steers hard right and the truck
begins to jack-knife, its trailerflicking out
like a blade. John knows ifhe's pushed into
the petrol tankers he'll burn to death. He
rams up the handbrake as far as it'll go,
buries both feet into the brake pedal and
pushesback against the seat.He covershis
head andwaits forimpact. He starts to count:
"onethousand and one,onethousand and
two, onethousand and three..."
T - M in u s 1 1 :0 0 :0 0/8pm
John flips through the channels and finds
the Sunday night movie on Mnet. He's spread
out on the couch, spending the night at his
mother. His fianc6e Ana. son Alex and
stepdaughter Maja are at home across town.
His mother, Esme, has lived alone since his
father died of prostate cancer. Now, she's
undergoing chemotherapy - and he's there
to keep her company.
John is your average 34-year-old. Abit
ofa StarTrek geek, who contemplates warp
speed and invents words like "unpossible".
He's a general manager and a hopeless
Subaru fanatic. In fact, earlier that day, he'd
spent sixhours removing and polishing the
wheels from his new Subaru (his fourth).
The blue 2006 Impreza WRX STI is his
dream car. John loves the grip ofthe all-
wheel drive, the powerful turbo-charged
engine and having the muscle to beat an MB
when the traffic light turns green. But most
of allhe loves the sound. Thatraw, popping
thrum that reminds him of an old VW Beetle.
Imprezas are among the safest cars in the
world. They exist on the fringe of artificial
intelligence, with smart anti-lock brakes,
stability and traction controls, air bags and
crumple zones. Regardless, in over four
million years, humans have not evolved to
withstand the forces of a car crash. Pitted
against tons ofsteel, our bodies are hurled
and broken like wooden huts in a hurricane.
Statistically, John is a perfect candidate for
a collision. Studies reveal men are much more
likely to die on the roads than women. Out of 10
deaths, as many as seven will be men. John's
age is also just right. Drivers between 20 and
44 are normally involved in more deadly
accidents than any other age group.
He likes fast cars. Avehicle capable ofgoing
from zero to a 100km/h in five-and-a-half
seconds, no matter how safe, adds to the risk.
RecentUS research shows that speeding
plays a role in a third ofall deadly accidents.
Dr Elmin Steyn, head ofthe Trauma
Society of South Africa, has spent 20 years
seeing what car crashes do to human bodies.
She says our only defence is our intelligence.
And our intelligence should tell us not to
speed. Steyn says drivers only respect speed
limits when there's a risk of getting caught.
"We don't rob banks," she says, "but we do
drive too fast."
Johnmaynotbeoneofthem,butarrogant
drivers with unrealistic- evendeluded
* ideas oftheir driving skills fill our roads.
ScientistscallittheLakeWobegonEffect:
an over-inflated perception ofyour own
ability. Accordingto anAmerican
study, over7IVoof drivers regard
themselvesasmoreskilledthan
others - and a measlytwo out of
100 are prepared to admit inferior inSouth,cfrica in2009. It makes him feel like a
ftoadrrofficMa?|,gf:;,"ii millionbucks.
driving skills.
Aggression is another killer. And in a
chaotic city like Johannesburg, anger and
road ragebecomea part oflife. As Tom
Vanderbilt writes in his book Traffic: Why
WeDriue the Way WeD o (R129 Kalahari.
net), this allows us to act out ofcharacter.
We slam ourfists into the hooter, we tailgate,
swear and pull zap signs, we cut peopleoff
andtake wild, uncalculatedrisks. We
swerveand speed.Webreaklaws.
Thesefactors addup to mistakes. And
statistics tell us that 827ooffatalcrashes in
South Africa in 2009 were causedby human
error-aggression, failure to stop at a robot
or an illegal overtake. Eight out of 10crashes
were ourfault. And evenifyou're an expert
driver, those around you may not be.Most will
speed,phoneorSMS, forgettobuckleup and
jump red lights. Somewill drink and drive
(the AA estimates that onein 16drivers, out
in anurban areaaftersunset.is drunk)while
others will pilot unroadworthy death traps
or fi ght off fatigue. Of all road deaths,almost
halfare "vulnerable road users":pedestrians,
cyclists and motorbike riders.
So every time John pulls
,/' out ofhis driveway, he enters
OX
The numberof
a complex and perilous net-
times more work that carries 9. 5 -million
likelya driver is other vehicles across the
to be in a crash
while talking on country. Hejoins a fierce
a celtphone.
(AASouthAiricol flow ofcars, buses, trucks,
taxis, bakkies and motor-
-l l- bikes - where the average
IDX
The numberof
car is 10 years old and the
average driver is not
times more likely
a drunk driver competent enough to handle
is ta cashthan a
soberone, makingthousands of
(AASauthAfrica) life-or-death decisions.
And the roads are only
L/L6
If yriu'redriving
getting busier. In 2009,
1.3-million new learner's
in an urbanarea licences were issued. Also,
after sunset,
chancesare that in SouthAfrica around
one in 16 drivers 30 000 cars are sold each
aroundyou has
beendr i nk i ng. month. The problemwith
(A.ASauthAfrica)
that, the Alt's Gary Ronald
says, is thatwe're nottaking
so% Wearinga
seatbelt can
anywhere nearthatmany
cars offthe roads.
reducerisk
ol deathby as T-Mi nus 00:30:00/6.30 A M
much as 50%.
{Arrive Alive}
Johnusuallycooks this
breakfast for the kids, but
I 11 he makes it for himselfthis
I tJ morning. He carves out the
o"Trln;"t!fi centre ofa fresh piece of
southAfrica' breadandflingsitinto a
tr:;:ty,frl:;i fryingpan. The oil sizzies
carporatian) as he breaks an egg over it.
Showered and shaven.
Johnunfolds the crisp white
10 857 shirtAna's packed for him.
Fatatvehicte crashes
APR IL 2011 I35
 He climbs into his car, rolls down the heart rate and blood pressure, while slowing helplesslyand smashesinto the cars.Like
window and lets in the fresh autumn air. It's down reaction time. Ifyou think Mozart's that prehistoric predator, it devours a silver
a beautiful Monday morning and his first symphonies will save you, think again. Hyundai - crumpling it under its long flat
planned stop is the Subaru dealershipto A study found that classical music can frame. It then slamsinto a construction
drop offthe car for a service. be too relaxing. barrier. Its forceis not spent.It ploughs
It's April, but a little late for the Easter forward, pushingcars into eachother,bending
rush - one oftwo sharp spikes on the graph T-Minus 00:10:00/6.50AM and breaking their metal skins. Riding a
of SouthAfrica's road deaths.Like twin John slips ontotheRS9 and approaches along, storm ofshatteredglass, the crashpulse flows
peaks,the Easter and Christmas holidays wide interchange. The road bends before forward. Human neckswhip, skulls bash
are megakillers. Easter 2009 saw around starting a series ofloops, which spit John out against steeringwheels and ribs snap
200 peopleperish, while 1 582 peoplewere onto the N12 highway. The downhill ends and to becomedeadlyshrapnel.Screamsdrown in
killed over the festive season. cars begin to slow. Signs for the Durban turn- the soundofdestruction. Alife evaporates.
Looking through the data - which shows offappearonthe asphalt. Trucks are already Bythe timeJohn's caris hit, the wavehas
10857fatal crashesin South Africa in 2009 clogging the lanes, squeezing the road and crashedand its fury subsided.The Subaru
- interesting patterns emerge.Saturdays forcing motorbikes to find impossible gaps. launches forwards a metre or two, and bumps
arethe deadliestdaysto be onthe roads, According to Vanderbilt, drivers react into a petrol tanker. There's no explosion.
followedby Fridays and Sundays.Driving the same wayto trucks as prehistoric man No fire. No pain. He looks down at his legs
in the evening between7pm and 9pm, will reacted to giant predators. We fear them - he imagined them being swallowed up by
put you at greatest risk. Researchalsotells because theyweigh 20 or 30 times more than the engine block.
us that most road deathshappencloseto a car and, where laws ofphysics are concerned, Today is not John's day to die.
homeVanderbilt writes that driving is one weight adds to momentum and therefore to Suddenly,he hears an explosionand feels
ofthe most complextasks we perform in our the force ofimpact. it wash overhim. The terror ofburning to
daily lives - onewhich involves more than John carves away eight kilometres before death returns and he leapsout ofhis car.
a thousand sub skills like scanning for the N12 morphs into the N3 north. An old Throughthe panic, John's thoughts flow
hazards,judging speed,adjusting instru- mine sprawls to the left, power Iines criss- clear and steady.He beginsto help people
ments and anticipating future actions of cross the highway and the dark silhouette away from the wreckage - first a youngster,
others.But when we'reon familiar roads, of a cement factory comes into focus. then a woman. Like a wall, the jack-knifed
we stopscanning,responsetime drops and The N3 is a corridorbetweenJohannes- truck separatesthe two halves ofthe
we allow ourminds to drift. burg and Durban, which means a never- accident scene,soJohn can't seethe crushed
John leaveshis mother'shouse,drivine ending stream oftrucks hauling deliveries Hyundai or the woman who emergesfrom
down Falcon Street, which dips sharply up and down the treacherous gradients it like a fiery ghost. When he doesseeher,
beforeendingin a T-junction. around the Van Buuren she'srunning towards him, her body covered
At the inter-section, the view -t f-r off-ramp. in bright orange flames.
opensup onto low-lying hills
in the distance.The beautiful
I.J million
Estimatednumberof peop[e,across
AsJohn approachesthis
off-ramp, traffic slowsto a
John absorbsthe sight. As the woman
approaches,something takes over him.
the globe,who die on the roadseach
view comeswith a hidden year. {UnitedNations/ WarldHealth crawl. Eventually the cars Somekind of primal instinct guides him.
danger-as muchas40Vo Arganisatian) stopall togetherandJohn He instructs the woman to lie down and
ofcollisions happen at seesthe red lights ofthe runs to his car. He searchesfor something
intersections. f\A petrol tankers. to extinguish her. Anything. He tries to open'
Wherever possible,John Z.+ nrillion
EstimatedannuatglobaIroad deaths
the boot - but it's crumpled shut from the
tries not to answer calls by 2030. {Wortd He alth Organisation)
T-Minus00:00:00/7AM crash. He looks in the back seat, but there's
whilehedrives. Buthe - IMPACT nothingthere. He cleanedout the car ahead
doeslike to listento music. One thousand and one. . . one ofthe service.
Researchshowsthat loud n O t-7C11 thousandandtwo...one At last he finds ajersey. He pulls off his
thumping music, with more Y O6 - -7
/ / 6L thousandandthree...John crisp cotton shirt andbundles themtogether.
than 60 beats per minute, is Vehicles registered in South Af rica
as of December2009.
prays. And waits. The He beats the flames. They fight back - licking
bad news.Itincreasesthe (RaadTraffic Management Corparotion) 18-wheeler truck slides and clawing-but surrender and slither

IFYOUVEEROFF IFYOURTYRE IFYOUSEEANANI- IFYOURVEHICLE

THB ROAD...
YOURINSTINCT Swerveto try
andget backon the road.
THE RIGHTRESPONSE;
Straightenthe wheets to allowthe
vehicteto straightenout, reduce
speed by releasingthe acceterator
pedat.Do notturn violentty.
Swervingbackright away increases
the risk of over-steeringand
[osinqcontro[.
BLOWS...
YOURINSTINGT Hitthe brakes.
THE RIGHTRESPONSE:Sl.owihe
vehicleby decelerationonty.Do not
brakebecauseit cou[dcause
severeswerving.Holdthe steering
wheel f irml.y,keepe checkon traf-
fic aroundyou and onceyou have
reducedto sufficientspeeddrive
slowlyoff the road.
MALONTHEROAD... CATCHES FIRB
YOURINSTINCT Swerveto avoidit. YOURINSTINCT:Jump out
THE RIGHTRESPONSE:Don't and run for it.
slam on brakes"Slow down and THE RIGHTRESPONSE:
avoidharshsteeringas this coutd Immediatel.yswitch off the
causethecarto losecontroL.Alert engineand pul.toff the road,
vehictesbehindyou ofyour inten- Get the occupantsout and
tions.StatisticatLy,
these kindsof away from the vehicte.
crashesare rare.But if you swerve Avoidusingwater.
you cou[dland up in a serioushead-
Source:
Driving
instructor
GrontMcoleery
on cottisionordrive off the road. of Driving Dynamics

1 36 APRr L 2 0 1 1
away. He folds up the clothes into a pillow,
and puts it underherhead.
The young woman is mumbling and
crying, convinced she's still on fire. He tells
her it's over and that she's safe. He takes her
arm, and feels the skin shift like hot jelly
beneath his palm. Smoke rises from her
burns. Her black pants are dissolving into
herlegs. He calls an ambulance andtries
to comforther. Amoment ofmadness melts
into an anxious wait.
The magnitude ofthe crash becomes
clear. Inside the black and grey ruin that
was once a Hyundai, lies the body of Rosa
Cabeleira, a mother of three and loyal export
clerk at a nearby Edenvale company. She
died instantly, consumed by the inferno of
ruptured petrol tanks.
Her passen ger, 26 -year-old Andreia
Pinto, managed to climb out and is now lying
nextto John, herbody covered in devastating
burns. Andreiajoined Rosa's company two
months earlier, and was catching lifts with
her in the mornings.
Natasha Fivaz was driving her Toyota
Yaris, and was one ofthe people trapped
in the traffic. After the crash, she jumped
out and - like she was in some strange dream
- watched her car burn out. One ofthe petrol
tankers is dented, but neither is seriously
damaged. Tens ofthousands oflitres offuel
are safe.
At that moment, huddled on the side of
the highway, Johnhas no ideahowfast his
old life is fleeing away from him. How
dramaticallyhis world- andthose of so
many others -will change.
Andreia's body will fight her burns for
a week, but will eventually succumb to them.
She'II slip away silently, never waking from
her induced coma. Doctors wiII tell her family
she suffered burns to 7 }Vo ofherbody, and
that one ofherribs ripped into her lung.
Ayear and a halflater, her mother will
wander through the house, she'll catch herself
Iooking at the kitchen door, expecting her
daughter to come bouncingthrough. Her
father Rogerio, a proud immigrant from
Portugal, will try to bottle up the grief. But
everynowand again, he'llgo and sleepin
Andreia's roomjust to feel her presence.
Johnwill go for trauma counselling and
listen as they tell him Andreia's death was
nothis fault. Thatthere was nothingmore
he could have done to save her. On the surface,
he'll understand this. But deep inside, he'Il
wrestle with guilt and withdraw fromAna
and the kids. He'lI launch a campaign
to improve the training of operators
manning emergency numbers. He'Il push
hard to get the project offthe ground, but
eventuallyrun out of steam.
Johnwill volunteer at orphanages,
desperate to take back some control and
make a difference. He'll leave the truck and
| . He a d r e st Sit in the dri ver'sseat,f [i p dow nthe
viso r a n d lo o k in the vani tymi rror:i s the top of the
h e a d r e sta t th e sa mehei ghtas your ears?ff i t
isn ' t,a d ju stit. "Pr opertyposi ti onedhead
r e str a in tsca n h e lpsaveyour necki n a crash,"
sa ysDr An n eM cCartt,from the Insurance
In stitu te f o r Hig h w ayS afety i n the U S .N ext,
a d ju stth e a n g teo f your seat backso there's
n o m o r eth a n1 0 cm betw eenyour headand
th e h e a d r e st.
2 . Ste e r in g wh e e l D on'ttet your steeri ngw heeI
b e co m ea we a p o n,"If you si ttoo cl ose,you may
sm a shin to it b e fo re the seatbettcan restrai nyou
a n dth e a ir b a gf u ttydeptoys,"saysD r S tefan
Du m a ,d ir e cto ro f the C entreof Inj ury B i ome-
ch a n icsa t Vir g in iaTechU ni versi ty,A dj ustthe
se a ta n d /o rth e steeri ngcol umnso that your
ch e stis a s f a r f r o m the w heelas i s reasonab[y
co m fo r ta b te ."Bu t makesureyou don'tgo so
f a r b a ckth a t yo u h aveto extendyour arms f ut[y
to r e a chth e wh e e [."
:i. He a d lig h ts Cr edi tthe safety-consci ous
r e se a r ch e r sin Sweden- w here varsel l j us,or
n o ticetig h ts,h a vebeenstandardsi nce1977- for
th is sim p testr a te gy:fti p your headIi ghtson even
d u r in gth e d a y."Studi esof dayti merunni ng[i ghts
trailer businessand go out on his own. But
it will take months for him to work up the
confidenceto promotehis business.
His engagementto Ana will finally fail
under the strain ofhis depressionand with-
drawal. His drivingpatterns will change.
He'll drive slowerand more cautiously.
He'Il grow convincedthe roads are not safe,
and stop driving long distances.For a while,
he'll break out in a rash, or suffer anxiety
attacks when stuck in traffic or next to a
truck. Twice he'Il pull over and vomit.
He'll cut down his interactions with fellow
membersofthe Subaru Club.Ayear and
a halfwill pass,and the imagesfrom the
s how they c an r educ e oppos i te di r ec ti on
tw o- v ehi c l e c r as hes by fi v e per c ent and
ac c i dents w i th pedes tr i ans and bi c y c ti s ts
by L2o/o,"says McCa rtt.
{. G l i m ate c ontr ol Set y our c abi n tem per atu re
to w hatev er 's c om f or tab[e, and then i f y ou f ee L
dr ow s y , dr op i t 15 degr ees . Sw edi s h r es ear c h e rs
di s c ov er ed that w hen dr i v er s c onti nuat[y l ow e r
and then r ai s e the tem per atur e at r andom
i nter v al s tas ti ng fi v e to ei ght m i nutes , thei r
al er tnes s i nc r eas es . T he s c i enti s ts s ay the
c ool er tem per atur es m ay di s r upt the atpha bra i n
w av es as s oc i ated w i th dr ow s i nes s .
;. T y r es W or n ty r es i nc r eas e y our s toppi ng
di s tanc e by as m uc h as 32% . Ac c or di ng to Ar ri v e
AIi v e, y ou s houtd c hec k tr ead depth on atl .ty r e s
and r epl ac e w etI befor e they r eac h the r eguta t o ry
m i ni m um depth of 1.0O m m to r educ e the r i s k o f
aquaptani ng on w et r oads . Al s o, c hec k ty r e
pr es s ur e, i nc l udi ng the s par e, onc e a w eek or
befor e under tak i ng a l ong j our ney . 0v er and
under - i nfl ati on r educ es tv r e to r oad c ontac t
and s hor tens ty r e ti fe.
( r .Gel l phone It i s an offenc e to hoLd and us e
a c ettohone or other el ec tr oni c c om m uni c ati o n
dev i c e s uc h as Bl ac k Ber r y , Per s onaI D i gi tat
As s i s tant ( PD A) and s o on w hi te dr i v i ng. In a
r ev i ew , C anadi an r es ear c her s c onc l uded tha t
dr i v i ng w hi te tatk i ng on a heads et i s j us t as
di s tr ac ti ng as hotdi ng the phone to y our ear . Y e s ,
i t's tough to i m agi ne hangi ng up w hen y ou hea d
out, but y our ti f e ti ter atty depends on i t.
crash - that tear in the fabric ofreality - wiII
continueto haunt John'sdreams.
The causeofthe crash will be investigated,
but never really solved.Inquest docketswill
be openedand insurance battles fought. But
all that lies in the future.
Fornow, tow-trucks will movethe wrecks,
firemen will throw sand on the road's scars
and traffic will start to trickle through John's
accidentscene.
Thousandsofmotorists will drive by and
stare. For a momentthey'll considerthe crash
and its victims. They'll think abouthow
unpredictablethe roads can be.And then
they'll drive away. trIE
APR IL 2O 1L I37