Pretoria - The North West province has already started to intensify its Arrive Alive operations heading towards the Easter long weekend.
About 300 provincial traffic officials will be aided by municipal traffic officers and other law enforcement agencies on the major roads linking the province with other provinces and boarders.
Acting spokesperson for the provincial Department of Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison, Simon Mmope, said they intended to further reduce accidents on the provincial main roads.
Human Settlements, Public Safety and Liaison MEC Nono Maloyi said traffic officials must approach the campaign with rigour, commitment and apply stiffer measures in their endeavour to put an end on the senseless killings of road users.
He appealed to motorist and communities to take responsibility for their lives by behaving well on the roads.
Maloyi said the provincial main roads should be monitored around the clock, especially the N4 and N12 roads. These roads link with other main roads like the N1 north that leads to Moria in Limpopo, where traffic is expected to increase on a daily basis during and after the season.
“Officials will mainly be focusing on passenger seatbelts, especially on public transport. Other offences like drunken driving, overloading, vehicle and driver unfitness, excessive speeding and reckless driving will be closely monitored. Those found on the wrong side of the law will not survive the harsh measures we have employed this Easter,” he said.
The MEC also encouraged long distance drivers to rest every two hours or every 200 km of driving to avoid driving fatigued, which is regarded as one of the major contributory factors towards road fatalities.
Maloyi further warned pedestrians to adhere to road rules and not to drink and walk on the road. He said they must wear reflective clothing, especially during the night.
The North West has thus far recorded six fatalities since the launch of the provincial Arrive Alive campaign. This has further propelled the department to be more vigilant and to be merciless on offenders.
“We would like to send a clear message to offenders, that punitive measures will be taken against offences without fear or favour,” warned Maloyi.
The annual Arrive Alive campaign is aimed at intensifying traffic law enforcement operations and increasing visibility of law enforcement in an effort to reduce road accidents and fatalities on all major roads across the province.
The campaign is in support of the National Rolling Enforcement Plan and the Decade of Action for Road safety aimed at reducing road accidents by half in 2020. – SAnews.gov.za
