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Following the tragic and untimely passing of Burry Stander it has been proposed in the media, the Western Cape Legislature andLead SA, that a 1.5 metre gap beteen cyclists and motorists (to be known as the Burry Gap) be applied and enforced.

The DA in Gauteng supports this measure, but it needs to be backed up by other measures to reduce the horrendous carnage on our roads. Our entire management of road safety is tragically flawed and only a total revision of our licensing laws and enforcement strategies will bring any real change. Our licencing model is outdated and not up to modern required standards. Our learner and driving licence systems are so corrupt that no-one actually knows how many legally competent motorists have 'really' passed the exams. What is certain is that there are a large and ever increasing group of drivers who have not passed any recognised test. Our licence renewal system is ineffective as it is really little more than a revenue generating exercise. Our roadworthy centres are also corrupt and so we have an ever growing number of non-roadworthy vehicles on the road.

Added to this the main task of the traffic police is to secure revenue for whichever entity employs them and very little is done to root out dangerous drivers. Additionally, the attitude of many drivers is one of utter selfishness and arrogance and the motto that drives them is "I only care about myself" which is a recipe for disaster on our roads.
Cycling bodies have pointed out that certain cyclists also infringe the rules of the road and the call for these cyclists to toe-the-line is welcomed. Cyclists deserve their own dedicated cycle paths and hopefully these will become commonplace.

I urge motorists to follow the Burry Gap rule to save the lives of cyclists, without waiting for any legislation in this regard.