Pretoria – Government has urged South Africans to exercise caution on the roads as the festive season approaches.
“In an effort to clamp down on road carnage, government is relying on motorists to change their behaviour on the road to help realise the undertaking by government to reduce the number of road deaths by half in 2020,” said the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) in a statement.
It urged motorists not to drink and drive, to fasten their seatbelts and keep a safe following distance.
Government thanked South Africans for their support of road safety during Transport Month in October.
In the last 19 years, the country’s urban landscape has changed, with transport infrastructure at the centre of this makeover. Cities are now characterised by better roads, rapid bus services and dedicated transit lanes, to name but a few.
Freeways have been upgraded with extra lanes and new interchanges have been built to alleviate traffic congestion.
These changes are a result of an intensive effort by government to develop and improve the infrastructure of the country’s transport system. The transport investments have been transforming the way in which South Africans live and interact with each other.
The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Rustenburg and Port Elizabeth is an example of how service delivery has improved.
By the end of the current financial year, government will have invested over R5.5 billion on planning, building and operating the public transport networks in 13 cities around the country.
“As the country gears up to celebrate 20 Years of Freedom next year, the successes in the transport sector demonstrate what can be achieved by steadily working together. Going forward, government will continue to invest and develop the country’s transport system to change lives and revitalise our economic landscape,” said the GCIS. - SAnews.gov.za
