Last year, MasterDrive launched the Fleet Safety Awards to recognise organisations and fleet managers for their efforts in improving road safety. It was a great success and showed the potential it has to encourage and motivate individuals as well as companies across all industries to fully commit to improving road safety in South Africa.

One such industry represented at the awards was the bus industry, which also saw the potential the Awards will have to propel road safety within its sector and reached out to the MasterDrive team. The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert, explains: “We have thus partnered with the South African Bus Operators Association (SABOA) to emulate the awards specifically within the bus industry. While every industry from light motor vehicles to heavy commercial vehicles stands to benefit from awards that focus on road safety, it is important to think of the magnitude that SABOA’s awards can have in the bus industry.

“Depending on the size of the bus, drivers are transporting around 50 people at once. Thus, a bus crash can have a considerable impact affecting a larger quantity of people. With so many lives in the hands of drivers, those tirelessly working to improve road safety and get travellers safely to their destination deserve the recognition this warrants.”

In 2023, we will host the inaugural SABOA Fleet Safety Awards at Automechanika. “This will acknowledge those throughout an organisation involved in playing their role to improve road safety. While it is important to spread road safety awareness it is just as important to pay recognition to those that already live the road safety ethos and demonstrate this within their company.

“We look forward to the very first SABOA Fleet Safety Awards and the potential it has to bring attention to road safety, encourage the efforts already seen and motivate other industries to pledge their support in the same way,” says Herbert.