Northern Cape Transport declares war on alcohol abuse during Weekend of Sobriety
The Northern Cape Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison has declared 14-16 December 2017 as the festive season Weekend of Sobriety to tackle both substance abuse (alcohol) and drinking and driving.
The aim of the campaign will be to create awareness on the adverse effects of alcohol abuse, discourage drinking and driving, encourage responsible drinking and promote the reduction of alcohol consumption in communities.
The campaign kick-starts on a Thursday, popularly known as Phuza (drinking) Thursday in some communities, as research indicates that it is when road crashes and crimes related to alcohol consumption increase.
The campaigns will kick-start on 14-15 December with Sports Against Crime Activities to mobilise young people in the fight against alcohol abuse and on 16 December with youth Road Safety Education campaign to inculcate safe road behaviour amongst the youth at a popular hangout spot in Galeshewe, respectively.
The campaigns targets all members of communities with a special focus on young people as road crashes are the leading killer of young people in our country where those between the ages of 15 and 29 die from road crashes with drinking and driving as one of the contributing factors.
Intensified law enforcement operations will continue since the start of the Festive Season Road Safety campaign led by MEC Pauline Williams on 30 November while social crime prevention programmes such as sporting games and discussions will continue to be encouraged as an alternative to drinking.
We are therefore calling on the youth to take a leading role in curbing crimes and road crashes related to alcohol consumption and to make better decisions, even if it means not being driven by a drunk driver. We also request alcohol consumers to be responsible and liquor traders to trade responsibly and not to sell alcohol to pregnant women, children and drunk customers.
No drinking and driving will be tolerated on any of the Province’s roads as traffic law enforcement officials will exercise no leniency in this regard and any failure to abide by the rules of the road in a bid to ensure safety of all road users, including pedestrians.
For any inquiries, please contact:
Ms Keitumetse Moticoe
Communications
Tel: 053 839 1700/836
Cell: 082 064 7003
E-mail: kgmoticoe@gmail.com
