Drive More Safely NPO
What does your company do?
We are a road safety organisation who focuses on road safety activism, education and saving lives.
At Drive More Safely NPO your safety on the roads matter the most as daily families are left with a permanent reminder of a crash that changed their lives forever. So our core is to not let another family experience the horror and trauma of losing a loved one on our roads. I lost my son so this is the ultimate drive to make a difference.
What is your biggest success?
My biggest achievement can be explained with two major happenings in road safety.
1. The change in the law regarding child restraints which now include all children from birth to 12 years old or 1,5m.
2. After 18 years of activism, hard work and dedication without any mayor assistance or funding, we have survived 18 years. A mayor accomplishment was when I took a chance and requested a meeting with the RTMC to present a project that could have a huge impact on our road fatalities. I presented Project EDWARD (Every day without a road death). This project found its originality in Europe and have made a major difference in road fatalities. I studied the project and realized that it fits well into the safe systems and the KZN Department of Transport 365 days.
I got permission from Europe to copy and adapt this to our country's demographics.
The presentation went well and Project EDWARD SA was launched for the 2024 festive season campaign.
What makes Project EDWARD such an amazing campaign is that it needs everybody to become stakeholders.
Everybody got together, government, civil society, faithbased organizations, individuals, companies and businesses with one goal. To make every day without a road death.
Project EDWARD SA became the model for the future. The festive season did not deliver the outcome we wished for but taught us valuable lessons. Come Easter we took the lessons learned and with even greater effort launched the 20th March 2025 with the national minister of Transport and all organisations.
My 18 years of knocking on government door to work together, begging for road safety to become a serious issue and putting everybody toger with one common goal was successful. We bece a team and fatalities dropped by nearly 45%. A first in many, many years.
I achieved my goal and knewy son didn't die in vain
His death gave life to many others with his mother committing to dedicate her life to ensure that road users are safe on our roads.
There is no bigger achievement than ensuring lives are save and it happens.
What has been your biggest hurdle?
My biggest hurdle is the lack of support.
There is no funding criteria for road safety. Although road deaths are one of the biggest killers of our people, there is no funding available to save lives on the roads. In 18 years I have funded myself.
My vehicle was stolen so we don't have a vehicle. But with all these hurdles the passion, the dedication and the determination to make a difference just drives me to never quit.
