Cape Town - A campaign that will “vigorously” drive road safety messages through a collaborative effort with organs of civil society will be rolled out this week, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said.
Mbalula said a social compact would underpin the ministry’s agenda of accelerated service delivery and define the role of civil society in ensuring road safety.
He said that was part of efforts to ensure that traffic policing became a 24/7 activity. “We’re engaging with all traffic authorities and traffic officers through relevant channels to ensure that the implementation of this intervention doesn’t negatively affect conditions of service of our officers.”
This comes in the wake of a number of crashes, each with multiple fatalities, in the Western Cape, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, since Thursday.
“We must all appreciate that safety on our roads is a collective responsibility we must all shoulder. Each of us must be able to define our individual contribution to making our roads safer for our children and future generations. This starts with changing behaviour that places the lives of other road users at risk,” he said. He added that his department had taken tangible steps towards curbing the carnage.
“The roll-out of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences is not just about a more efficient
way of adjudicating road traffic offences, but about creating effective incentives to change road user behaviour,” said Mbalula.
Fikile Mbalula
Transport and Public Works MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela said more than 1300 people were killed on Western Cape roads every year. Alcohol was involved in at least 60% of those deaths. “Drinking and driving doesn’t just rob families of loved ones every day. It also has a negative impact on the economy, costing R29 million a day, helping trap millions in poverty.”
Mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith said the city would increase efforts to ensure motorists abided by the laws of the road to make these safer, and to bring those who transgressed to book.
“Every motorist has the responsibility to abide by the road safety rules. When you transport passengers, you have an added responsibility,” he said.
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