Johannesburg: The Road Traffic Infringement Agency and the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department will on Sunday hold a national prayer day against road crashes and deaths in Soweto.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the prayer day would be held at the Klipspruit Valley Road in Soweto.
He said Gauteng, Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal were the five identified accident hot spots.
At an average of 38 road deaths per day, Fihla said road deaths were a great concern for the country.
“Hence, among the interventions that are being put in place is the national implementation of Administrative Adjudication of the Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) law enforcement programme. Currently, Aarto is implemented in Tshwane and Johannesburg and it will be rolled out in the entire country as from 1 July, 2021,” he said.
Fihla said the national prayer day was being held on the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, as declared by the UN.
“The international road safety awareness initiative serves to acknowledge victims of road traffic crashes and their families,” said Fihla.
Fihla said the roll-out of the Aarto was being underpinned to change motorist behaviour on the roads.
“It will save our country from the ever-increasing number of people losing their lives on our roads. “The fact that habitual infringers are beginning to feel the impact of Aarto in their pockets in areas where Aarto is operational, means the programme is going to yield the desired results. “Law-abiding road users are encouraged to remain compliant with traffic laws and they will be untouched by Aarto.” | IOL