Cape Town - Crossing highways on foot is dangerous and the pedestrian death rate is high, yet some people still disregard the law by crossing the busy roads on foot.
The City of Cape Town’s law enforcers say their crackdown on the roads in the metro region since the beginning of the year has cut pedestrian deaths to 100 for the first four months of the year, while in 2014 there were a total of 384 and 389 in 2013.
Despite the National Road Traffic Act, which prohibits jaywalking as well as motorists stopping on freeways to collect pedestrians, crossing highways “continues to be a problem in the city, particularly on freeways and often with devastating consequences,” said Cape Town City Council mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith.
This week the Cape Times investigated whether pedestrians were jaywalking and found it was commonplace, with pedestrians stating that opportunistic criminals target them and rob them of their valuables at the footbridge.
Pedestrian Thanduxolo Sowabo, 23, who crossed the N2 near Khayelitsha, said using the footbridge was not safe.
“It is risky, but I must be extra careful,” said Sonwabo.
Luntu Khosana, 36, who was running along the N2, said as hazardous as it was, running on the freeway helped him to concentrate better.
“It is not safe because I might be run over by a car,” he told the Cape Times.
Another pedestrian, Joseph Owen, 34, who was crossing on the off-ramp along the R300, said he waited for about 10 minutes before crossing as the road was busy.
“This is the fastest way to get home,” said Owen.
An elderly man crossing the N2 along Bonteheuwel, who did not want to be identified, said crossing the highway saved him time.
“It is much quicker than going all the way to the bridge.”
Smith said the city conducted ongoing enforcement and awareness operations in an effort to reduce the pedestrian death toll, which averaged more than 30 deaths a month.
He said the campaigns were conducted at regular intervals at hot spots such as the N2, N7 and R300 highways.
Smith said other danger zones included roads in Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Philippi, Dunoon, Mitchells Plain, Nyanga and Parow.
On average, said Smith, the campaign interacted with between 150 and 200 pedestrians per operation.
“Our problem is twofold. On the one hand we have thousands of people illegally crossing highways on a daily basis, taking on vehicles approaching at high speeds.
“On the other, we have pedestrians on suburban roads crossing when it is not safe to do so, or even more concerning, crossing roads while inebriated.
“We have footbridges and pedestrian crossings in place along many of our roads, but these are underutilised because some road users do not want to walk the few dozen extra metres to ensure safe passage for themselves and the safety of other road users,” said Smith.
Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Simon Zwane said his organisation was working closely with the provincial government to educate pedestrians about the dangers of crossing highways.
“We urge people to cross roads where it is safe to do so and when walking on roads, to wear bright clothing.
“There were many reasons people cross roads unsafely, especially if they were living close to the highways and far from the footbridges.
“Drivers of cars also should be on the lookout for pedestrians and try to reduce the speed at which they are travelling,” said Zwane.
Cape Times