Cape Town - The statistics on fatal road crashes should spur all South Africans into action, writes Minister of Transport Dipuo Peters.
The figures show that South Africa, with about 32 deaths per 100 000 population per year, features high on the list of countries in terms of road traffic-related deaths. Worldwide, road crashes kill 1.25 million people per year – more than some of the high-risk diseases such as malaria or tuberculosis.
For this reason, the United Nations has declared the 10-year period from 2011 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety – and the South African government has embraced this campaign.
Our approach to follow a 365-day-a-year campaign on road safety – rather than only raising awareness prior to the holiday seasons – is one that should be supported by all road users.
To reduce the disturbing high rate of fatal crashes on our roads, we must intensify the efforts of all concerned – road users, civil society, academic researchers, the non-government sector and the government institutions responsible for road safety and law enforcement.
In our road safety programmes we focus on the Five Pillar-approach adopted by the United Nations, namely road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users and effective post-crash responses.
CHANGING BEHAVIOUR
The South African National Roads Agency Limited, an agency of the Department of Transport, is investing an increasing portion of its budget towards research, road safety education in schools and awareness programmes aimed at communities living in close proximity to the major highways managed by the agency.
The provision of safe infrastructure cannot be divorced from the need to provide road users with sufficient information and road safety education that will result in changed behaviour.
The most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, passengers, cyclists and occupants of buses and minibuses.
Construction projects for new roads or major maintenance programmes are, thus, always accompanied by road safety training |for communities.
Sanral is also sharing its comprehensive research into commuter behaviour with education authorities as part of a collaboration to bring road safety education into the mainstream of the school curriculum.
The roads agency is also conducting a three-year research programme on the way young pupils relate to road safety.
What is apparent at this stage is that knowledge about road safety does not automatically result in a change of behaviour.
Clearly, exploring and adapting different approaches to road safety education is necessary.
This research will inform us |on the effective approach to road safety.
Without safely engineered roads, road safety education can be significantly neutralised.
SAFETY STRATEGY
It is difficult to preach road safety to people when the very roads they are using are dangerous because of the way they have been designed or maintained.
We need innovative engineering solutions and to show greater respect for laws to intervene in areas that are high-crash zones. Indeed, you may find that to reduce pedestrian deaths on a particular stretch of road all that is needed is a pedestrian bridge or walkway.
The safety strategy must be able to respond to that kind of challenge. A recent example demonstrates that “better roads” can bring about a safer environment and contribute to a reduction in the number of crashes and fatalities.
The R71 linking Polokwane with the eastern parts of Limpopo is well-known as one of the busiest stretches of roads in the country – especially during Easter, when it carries more than 17 000 vehicles |a day en route to Moria for the |religious pilgrimage.
Sanral’s re-engineering entailed the construction of a new intersection and a dual carriageway on the busiest stretch close to Zion City.
A new pedestrian walkway was also constructed to provide members of the community and pilgrims improved and safer access away from the main road surface.
CCTV cameras, lower speed limits and traffic calming are examples of measures introduced on stretches of roads where pedestrian activity is high.
APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS
Research data from a number of sources is analysed and evaluated to identify high-risk areas and decisions made about the most appropriate interventions.
At institutions of higher learning such as the University of Stellenbosch, Sanral is sponsoring research into safer road surfaces and working with the engineering and construction industries to design and build roads that are better able to meet the needs of a growing number of non-motorised users on our highways.
Research done at the University of Cape Town, through Sanral’s sponsorship of a chair in Transportation Planning and Engineering, is providing us with valuable insights into the behaviour of road users and the steps that can be taken to improve road safety on the city’s freeway network.
Insight gained from this research is then used to develop community education programmes on road safety, pedestrian visibility, alcohol and substance abuse and awareness about the risks associated with dangerous behaviour close to busy highways.
It is important that we also think of the victims of crashes – 1.25 million deaths and 50 million non-fatal injuries per year – and the plight of the loved ones who have to cope with the aftermath.
Together with the global community, we are observing the third Sunday of November as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Crash Victims, a UN initiative. It reminds us that road traffic crashes have a human face and road safety is not just about statistics and enforcement. It is also about respect for law and the shared space.
Through our collective efforts, we can create safer roads and reduce the high rate of crashes and fatalities in our country.
*Peters is the Minister of Transport
** The vIews expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
Cape Times
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