By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga has once again urged motorists to obey the rules of the road as she led yet another festive season Road Safety Awareness Campaign.
The minister took safety campaign to Heidelburg’s Weighbridge on the N3 near Johannesburg, where she urged road users to heed caution on the country’s roads as carnages continue to increase.
“In terms of our statistics, pedestrians are the most affected by road crashes, followed by victims of hit and run incidents, followed by cars that are overtaking on the road and head-on collisions,” the Minister said .
“We urge all pedestrians to cross at places designated for crossing the road. This can not only save you but save your family as well from the pain that they will suffer if you die due to an accident on the road, “Chikunga said.
The minister said human behaviour was to blame as more than 86% of road accidents were due to human behaviour.
“It is extremely worrying for us because, if you look at the patterns, it would seem like long weekends mean nothing but bingeing on alcohol and driving, and people walking on our streets being drunk. Therefore it’s a combination of drunk drivers and drunk pedestrians, followed by hit-and-runs and cars that overturn by themselves. So we’re not doing well at all as a country in terms of fatalities and fatal crashes,” Chikunga said.
The Department of Transport’s Festive Season Road Safety Awareness Campaign is a government programme aimed at prioritising and promoting safer road usage during the high peak season on South African roads.
The objective of the campaign is not only to ensure smooth flows of traffic, but also to prevent negligent and reckless driving which could result in road crashes, injuries and fatalities.
The campaign was launched in the last week of November. It is a collaboration between different levels of government, transport entities led by CEOs, private sector organisations, NGOs and key stakeholders and role players.
Festive season activities in South Africa are associated with year-end celebrations, economic industry slowdowns and year-end closures, increased traffic volumes and increased road crash incidents – the large proportion of road crash victims usually pedestrians and passengers as a result of lack or even non-use of safety belts and jaywalking.
Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) CEO Makhosini Msibi said law enforcement officials are out in full force to ensure adherence to rules as traffic volumes begin to peak.
“We are here to deal with truck drivers because if you look at the trucking population it is quite massive. We will engage the trucking industry on the phenomenon of fatigue because most of the fatal crashes are caused by fatigue.
“This engagement will also educate us on their experiences and what they can do better. We also want to know how we can partner with them in changing the attitudes and culture of driving. We are certain that we are going to make a dent in terms of the fatal crashes,” Msibi said.