Driver development parks on the cards

DRIVING schools could soon have an appropriate facility to train learner drivers. This comes after the eThekwini Municipality’s plan to establish the facility was tabled before the Human Settlements and Infrastructure Committee last week.

The proposal is expected to be addressed with council later this month for approval. In the interim, the eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA) will continue to engage with the relevant stakeholders to create a driver development park. This project forms part of the city’s road safety strategy. The driver development park will provide a ‘one-stop-shop’ service for the development and assessment of drivers.

The two sites proposed by the ETA are along the Warwick node next to the University of KwaZulu-Natal Edgewood Campus in Pinetown. eThekwini Municipality’s head of communications, Tozi Mthethwa, said, “The plan entails establishing a number of well-resourced driver development parks in which driving schools can provide training to learner drivers. These parks will be used by driving schools to conduct their business and would have classrooms for lectures, tracks for skills training, driving simulators, waiting areas and ongoing refresher courses for all public transport drivers in the city.”

Head of the ETA, Thami Manyathi, added, “The city values the role of drivers and they are key for the success of the road safety strategy. Inappropriate and aggressive driving behaviour exposes road users to the risk of accidents, together with the known drastic consequences. The parks will provide an enabling environment for good driving behaviour and promote a culture of professionalism.”

Manyathi added that the municipality will approach the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and its road traffic inspectorate, the National Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Corporation to discuss the concept of driver development parks, because matters around licensing are a national and provincial competency.