Pretoria - Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has urged motorists to obey the traffic rules as schools close for the spring holidays today and families take to the roads to various vacation destinations.
"The past two months [August and September] have been horrific in terms of road deaths across the country, and we cannot allow this to continue ... We call upon all road users to obey all road rules. With schools closing today (30 September), we urge motorists to ensure vehicle and driver fitness at all times," said the minister.
He said law enforcement operations have been stepped up.
"As government, we will continue to go all out to ensure safe roads through implementation of a comprehensive road safety strategy focusing on education, enforcement and engineering in line with the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. We will win the war against road deaths, but each and every one of us must put more effort into it," said Ndebele.
Over the past three weeks, at least 1 500 un-roadworthy buses and taxis have been taken off South Africa's roads. From 31 August to 25 September, 194 962 public transport vehicles were stopped and checked; 783 mini-buses, 501 buses, 210 scholar transport vehicles and 253 trucks discontinued from use; 39 934 fines issued for various public transport offences; more than 825 public transport drivers arrested including 168 for drunk driving, 552 for overloading, 55 for excessive speed, 17 for reckless and/or negligent driving and 88 in connection with public transport permits.
Government is also cracking down on suspected corrupt police officers. On Monday, the Mpumalanga Safety Department reportedly fired four traffic officers, who were charged with corruption, bribery and failure to comply with the Criminal Procedure Act.
In July, three of the officers were caught in Malelane after they helped a motorist transport illegal goods into the country in exchange for money, while the fourth officer was caught taking a bribe from a taxi driver in Barberton.
Ndebele will host transport ministers from member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) from 5 - 7 October in Pretoria, where the SADC Decade of Action for Road Safety will be officially launched.
SADC supports the UN call for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, through harmonisation of road safety initiatives in the region.
The SADC meeting will follow Ndebele's attendance of the XXIV World Road Congress in Mexico City from 26 - 30 September, where ideas and experiences of various countries in the framework of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety were discussed.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), in collaboration with the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport, Department of Basic Education, Transnet, BP South Africa and the Road Accident fund will host the National Road Safety Debates Competition, aimed at secondary school learners, on 5 October from in Durban. - BuaNews
