Johannesburg - The festive season road death toll has continued to rise, despite interventions and pleas by authorities for more caution on the road.
At least 500 people have died on roads across the country since the start of the holiday season as South Africa's road carnage continues unabated, according to the Department of Transport.
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Minister Dipuo Peters was quoted last week as saying 487 people had been killed in accidents between December 1 and 13. The toll has since hit the 500 mark. Almost 1400 people perished on South Africa's roads during last year's festive season.
DRUNK DRIVING OUT OF CONTROL
More disturbing is that many people have not heeded the calls for caution on the roads, with many cases of drunk driving reported.
In Joburg, more than 440 motorists were arrested for drinking and driving at the weekend, in an apparent total disregard of traffic laws.
Of this number, at least 300 were nabbed on Saturday night. This showed a spike in similar cases, according to Johannesburg metro police department spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar. "This was abnormally high for one night," he said.
Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Simon Zwane also expressed concern about the high number of road accidents this month, especially those relating to drunk pedestrians, the abuse of alcohol on the road, and motorists driving at high speeds in unroadworthy vehicles.
"During our roadblocks we found more than 1000 motorists under the influence of alcohol and subsequently arrested them. We also suspended about 1000 unroadworthy vehicles," he said.
RECKLESS SPEEDS
Apart from drunk driving, Minnaar said motorists have continued to be reckless on the road. Speeding remains a big concern.
A 33-year-old man was caught doing 212km/h in his BMW on the N3 freeway near Marlboro in Sandton on Sunday. He was among 41 motorists arrested for speeding in and around Joburg.
In another incident, a Free State motorist was arrested in Ventersdorp for clocking 221km/h.
"Speed is a factor that leads to accidents. People lose control of their vehicles and collide with others or stationary objects," Minnaar said.
He added that pedestrian safety remained a major concern. He reminded pedestrians to avoid crossing freeways or railway tracks, especially at night or after having consumed alcohol.
DRIVER ATTITUDE PROBLEM
"There will be zero tolerance for those who flout the rules of the road," Minnaar said.
His statements were backed by Western Cape traffic chief Kenny Africa, who said many of the crashes were as a result of the attitudes of drivers.
"With our new technology, which includes average speed over distance cameras, weekend alcohol blitzes, fatigue management and chain speed operations, we are saving lives and making a difference. Motorists need to change their attitudes and be more respectful to their fellow road users," Africa said.
ARRIVE ALIVE IS DEAD
Recently, the government came under fire from opposition parties for its announcement that the yearly Arrive Alive campaign had come to an end.
Last week, Zwane was quoted as saying the Arrive Alive campaign was now called the 365 Days of Road Safety, as Arrive Alive had been registered as its own brand earlier this year.
Sadly, though, the large number of arrests could not spare the lives of some people. At least three people died on Gauteng's roads at the weekend, while 12 people died in crashes across the Western Cape and 10 were killed in Durban.
As the number of cars leaving Gauteng and entering coastal destinations is expected to increase steadily ahead of Christmas, there are fears that the death toll could increase.
TAXIS TAKING CHANCES
Western Cape Traffic chief Kenny Africa said there were more vehicles on the province's roads than in previous years.
Africa said although over the years, the traffic department and taxi drivers had been working together well, this year was different:
"Taxis are coming back from the Eastern Cape driving at high speed; they are taking chances and endangering people. They are driving up and down trying to see how many trips they can do, driving in high speed. We can't allow it. This is not on. We are going to deal with them."
Independent Media