Pretoria - The Western Cape government is making all its provincial roads safer during this Easter long weekend through joint operations comprising municipal and provincial traffic officers, national police unit and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS).
Spokesperson for the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works, Siphesihle Dube, said the joint operations will be targeted mainly at public transport, but specifically looking at compliance and driver and vehicle fitness.
Dube said traffic law enforcement officers will also have operations aimed at preventing the transportation of illegal substances, driving under the influence of alcohol and fatigue management.
“Our traffic officials have a zero tolerance approach towards alcohol abuse by both drivers and pedestrians.
“We are very pleased to announce that members of the National Traffic Police Unit (NTPU) will be assisting the provincial traffic services over the Easter Weekend.
“Working together will allow for an important transfer of information between the units and enable the province to introduce the NTPU to some of the technology such as the Average Speed over Distance, which has had success on our provincial roads,” Dube said.
According to Dube, pooling joint efforts is an excellent example of co-operative governance in action.
He said the fatality rate on the provincial roads had been reduced from 1 739 in December 2008 to 1 262 December 2012 through their Safely Home Campaign.
The recent Hex River bus crash tragically claimed the lives of 24 people and the horrific accident once again brought public transport into the spotlight, although investigations into the causes of the crash are still ongoing. - SAnews.gov.za
