Mastering the art of safety on SA roads

The morning air at the BMW x-Drive Park in Midrand was crisp, carrying with it the faint, exhilarating scent of tyre rubber and high-octane potential. I found myself standing on the edge of a pristine tarmac playground, staring down a fleet of precision-engineered machinery. I was not there merely to enjoy a drive; I was there to deconstruct every bad driving habit I had accumulated over the years and replace them with the surgical precision required by the BMW Safety Course.

The session commenced in a classroom, though “classroom” feels like a dry term for what was essentially a briefing on the laws of physics. We dissected the science of weight transfer and the critical importance of seating position. It turns out that most of us sit far too reclined, treating our driver’s seats like lounge chairs rather than command centres. By the time I adjusted my seat to ensure a slight bend in the arms and legs, allowing for maximum leverage and pedal pressure, I felt physically tethered to the car in a way I had never previously considered.

The instructors emphasised that technology, no matter how advanced, is only as effective as the person behind the wheel. That message stayed with me throughout the day. Each exercise built on the last, gradually layering knowledge and experience in a way that felt both natural and deeply impactful.

Moving from theory to the skid pan, the real education began.

The skid pan is a diabolical invention: a polished surface drenched in water to simulate the most treacherous road conditions imaginable. My first task was to induce, and then catch, an oversteer. As the back of the BMW began to step out in a slow-motion dance of defiance, my instinct was to over-correct. The instructor’s voice crackled over the radio, calm and steady, guiding my hands to find the balance between steering input and throttle control. It is a strange sensation to feel a vehicle lose its grip, yet remain entirely within your sphere of influence, once you understand the shape of the slide.

We then transitioned to the emergency braking exercise. In our daily lives, we rarely, if ever, truly stand on the brakes. We are taught to be gentle, to be progressive. Here, the instruction was the opposite: hit the pedal as if you are trying to snap it off the floor. Feeling the Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) pulse through the sole of my shoe while the car came to a dead stop from 60km/hr in a fraction of the distance I anticipated was a revelation. It removed the fear of the unknown, replacing it with a clear understanding of the mechanical safety nets built into these vehicles.

The highlight, however, was the lane-change manoeuvre. Imagine an obstacle suddenly appearing in your path at speed. The natural human reaction is to freeze or swerve violently. The course forced me to trust the chassis. I learned to look through the turn, to focus not on the obstacle I wanted to avoid, but on the clear path where I wanted the car to go. It is a psychological shift as much as a physical one. When I stopped staring at the danger, my hands instinctively guided the vehicle toward safety.

As the sun began to set over the track, I realised that my relationship with driving had shifted. I was no longer a passive occupant, but a deliberate operator. I left the BMW x-Drive Park with a profound respect for the limits of grip and a much sharper set of tools to navigate the unpredictability of the open road. The experience was an intense, heart-pounding reminder that the best safety feature in any vehicle is, and always will be, the person behind the wheel, who knows exactly what to do when things go sideways.

With the increase of accidents on our roads, I believe regular advanced driving courses or safety courses should be recommended for all drivers. The cost of this basic safety course was R4,950, a small price to pay to have the ability to master safety on South African roads.

• For more information, visit BMW Safety Course.

* Sheryl Goldstuck is general manager of World Wide Worx and editor of GadgetWheels. Follow her on Bluesky on @crazycatbuzz.bsky.social.