Cape Town - A total of 24 people lost their lives on the Western Cape’s roads at the weekend – and this was mainly caused by drunken driving.
But provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa warned that traffic officials would take a zero-tolerance approach over the Easter weekend.
Africa said more than half of last weekend’s road deaths took place in the metro region, where 13 people died.
“Drunken driving is still a major problem and was the cause of most of the deaths,” he said.
Mayco member for safety and security JP Smith said that generally the most common factors associated with accidents and resultant fatalities were drunk motorists and pedestrians, speed, inconsiderate and reckless driving, and pedestrians crossing roadways illegally.
This Easter holiday, Africa said, traffic officials would be out in full force, especially along the R61 stretch from Beaufort West to Aberdeen Road – renowned for a high level of road fatalities.
“We will have extra enforcement on the road and roadblocks to deal with drunken drivers over the Easter weekend. National traffic police and 20 other officials from Pretoria will also be more visible over the long weekend,” he said.
A FAIR COMPARISON?
In New Zealand, the road death toll was five, with 95 people injured in crashes reported from Thursday, April 17 to Tuesday, April 22 last year.
However, in South Africa the Easter road death toll was 148 – a drop from 201 road deaths in 2013.
But the Road Accident Fund’s (RAF) chief executive, Eugene Watson, said it was important to consider the country’s population when comparing our road deaths to other countries.
“Our country has a much higher population than New Zealand, which means we will have more road users,” Watson said.
“Fifteen million South Africans make use of taxis alone and you also have to consider that we are a developing country. We are trying to improve things on the road and the minister is also serious about making sure there are less deaths on the roads,” he said.
FUTURE YOU CAMPAIGN
The RAF has embarked on the meet the #FutureYou campaign which began yesterday.
The initiative promotes the message that to live long enough to meet the #FutureYou, you need to stay awake and alive on the road during Easter.
RAF staff will promote road safety interventions at taxi ranks, petrol stations and via various media platforms with message maps to encourage road users to travel with caution on the roads during the Easter holiday.
“Road awareness shouldn’t stop over the Easter or December holidays, and with 40 South Africans dying on the road each day, we are aware that the risk for accidents is even higher during the holidays,” said Watson.
In the last 12 months, 170 000 claims have been registered with the RAF and there have been about 14 000 cases every month.
“Too many lives are being lost on our roads,” said Watson.
The provincial Transport Department will officially launch its Traffic Operational Plan on Thursday at the Huguenot Tunnel.
Department spokesman Byron La Hoe said that over March and April, through the road safety calendar, they were promoting the message of personal responsibility on the road.
“We are urging motorists to Be The Change (#BeThe Change) that they want to see on our roads. The message is being driven on the radio, on Twitter and via the Freeway Management System’s Variable Message Signs.
“In March, we have been running the ‘Businessman’ and ‘Taxi Driver’ ads, while we are launching a fresh set of spots ahead of the Easter weekend, called ‘GPS’. These ads urge road users not to let reckless driving be the norm on our roads,” La Hoe said.
Cape Times