Cape Town - Additional traffic officers are being brought in from Joburg and Pretoria as the Western Cape prepares to crack down on drunk and reckless drivers in the province over the Easter Weekend.
The province experienced carnage on its roads last month, with a record high of 154 people killed in a series of brutal crashes. Provincial traffic chief Kenny Africa said it was the “highest number of deaths in history” they had seen during the month.
And now the pressure is on going into Easter, he continued, saying: “We want zero fatalities over this weekend.”
Historically, the long weekend sees a spike in the number of road deaths. Statistics published by the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, showed that in 2009, 21 people were killed over the weekend. In 2010, that figure grew even larger as 28 people died on the province’s roads.
However, there was a dip in 2011, when only seven people were killed in crashes.
In 2013, 14 people lost their lives on provincial roads.
But now road deaths are back on the rise. Just last weekend, 24 people were killed in collisions, said the department in a statement, marking a violent end to what has already been a devastating month.
‘NO CARE’ ATTITUDE
Africa said the problem was that motorists did not seem to care. They refused to stop speeding, they continued to drink and drive and pedestrians were still taking risks on the province’s busy freeways.
The province’s drunk driving plight was highlighted after traffic officers arrested 25 motorists for driving under the influence this past weekend. And Africa warned that they “would come down harshly” on any drunk drivers caught at their roadblocks or spotted on the streets this Easter.
“We will arrest drunk drivers, and they will spend the whole long weekend behind bars until their first possible court date on Tuesday… The same goes for drunk pedestrians who insist on running on our roads.”
The city’s mayco member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, said this weekend would see an increased focus on drunk pedestrians. According to sources collected by the Road Traffic Management Corporation, the Western Cape Department of Transport and Public Works, and the national Department of Transport, pedestrians make up roughly 50 percent of all road deaths. “We would like to urge all pedestrians to stay off our roads, if they dare come on to them, we will arrest drunk pedestrians immediately.”
Africa said provincial traffic services would deploy their entire force of 502 officers over the weekend. However, this number may be bolstered by up to 20 more officers from Joburg and Pretoria, after Africa said he requested reinforcements earlier this week.
Officers will be conducting blitz operations throughout the weekend, starting on Friday night straight through to early on Monday morning.
The Road Accident Fund has launched a campaign titled #FutureYou ahead of this Easter Weekend. The organisation’s chief marketing officer, Phumela Dhlomo, said the campaign’s main focus was to motivate road users to arrive safely at their destinations.
Cape Argus