From the Editor’s Desk 

24 July 2026

It only takes one empty chip packet to spoil a beautiful stretch of countryside. It only takes one unroadworthy truck involved in a serious crash to damage the reputation of the entire transport company. One action. One decision. One moment. Never underestimate the Power of One. Changing for the good in all areas comes down to the Power of One – a philosophy FleetWatch has always believed in. One road death is one too many. One hijacking is one too many. One unroadworthy truck is one too many.

We hold this view because statistics can sometimes distance us from reality. If annual road fatality figures are extremely high – like the more than 12 000 deaths South Africa records each year – it’s easy to become disheartened and think, “there’s nothing we can do. It’s out of control.” On the other hand, if the numbers are low, we may convince ourselves there isn’t really a problem and do nothing to improve them further. The Power of One changes that way of thinking. It shifts our focus from overwhelming numbers to individual actions – because that’s where real change begins. Take this example.

You’re driving on the N1 from Cape Town to Johannesburg along one of those endless stretches of road where the countryside disappears into the horizon. You’ve just finished a packet of crisps. Instead of putting the empty packet into a rubbish bag in your car – or truck – you toss it out the window. “It’s only one packet,” you tell yourself. “What’s the difference?” The answer is: a great deal.

Some time ago, my wife and I were travelling that very route. I said to her: “Tell me when to stop and I’ll show you something.” She looked at me rather strangely but agreed. A kilometre or two later she said, “Stop.” I pulled over, walked a few paces off the road and called her over. “There,” I said. Lying in the grass were an empty Coke can, a used nappy and a handful of other items discarded from passing vehicles. We got back into the car and repeated the exercise another two times. Each time she said, “stop,” I stopped. Each time we found more litter – beer bottles, cool-drink cans, take-away wrappers, cardboard boxes and even a brand-new shoebox. It didn’t matter where we stopped. There was litter. I have little doubt that every person who threw those items from a vehicle believed it wouldn’t make any difference. After all, it was only one Coke can, one bottle or one take-away wrapper. But that’s exactly how the Power of One works. One careless act, repeated thousands of times by thousands of people, eventually becomes a national problem. Consider this. The N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) collects between 4 000 and 6 000 bags of litter every month along its 415-kilometre route. That’s between 50 000 and 72 000 bags every year. It’s one of the reasons N3TC launched its #BinYourLitter campaign. Sadly, the message still hasn’t reached everyone. I’ve stopped next to some of those litter bins and seen more rubbish lying around them than inside them. Eieeesh!

Every individual choice contributes to the bigger picture – for better or worse. This is exactly what we try to impress upon traffic officials during our Brake & Tyre Watch training. We don’t ask them to think about the total road death toll. We ask them to think about one person. One mother. One father. One son. One daughter. One family whose lives have been changed forever because of a crash. We tell them that if, through their actions, they save just one life, they’ve already made a huge difference. That’s the Power of One.

Need another example? Look no further than the Springboks’ remarkable Rugby World Cup triumph in 2023. South Africa beat France 29-28 in the quarter final. A win by one point. They then went on to play England in the semi-final and the end score of 16-15 again gave the Boks a one point win. And then it was the final against our arch rivals, New Zealand, which they defeated by one point, 12-11. Three matches. Three victories. Three one-point margins. Those three single margins in each game brought the Webb Ellis Cup home and lifted the spirit of an entire nation. That’s the Power of One.

Now imagine if every truck owner and transport company in South Africa adopted that same philosophy. Treat every truck as though it were the one that matters most. Because it is. A fleet may consist of 20 trucks, 200 trucks or 2 000 trucks but it is still made up of individual vehicles. Every one of them deserves the same attention to maintenance, every one of them deserves a proper pre-trip inspection and every one of them deserves to be completely roadworthy before turning a wheel. I have little doubt that this mindset would make a significant contribution towards reducing the number of truck crashes on our roads while also enhancing the reputation of the trucking industry as a whole. One safe truck. One responsible driver. One correctly inflated tyre. One properly adjusted brake. One pre-trip inspection done thoroughly instead of hurriedly. One chip packet placed in a bin instead of thrown from a window. Individually, they may seem insignificant. Collectively, they change everything. So here’s a challenge.

Think about where you – whether as an individual or as a company – can apply the Power of One to make a positive difference – even beyond trucking. Then tell us about it. We’ll gladly share your story because positive examples inspire others to do the same. Never underestimate the Power of One.

Patrick O’Leary
Managing Editor, FleetWatch