Arrive Alive
Government’s Arrive Alive Road-Safety Campaign has become an important part of the Department of Transport’s road safety projects and awareness efforts, especially during critical periods for road traffic management such as Easter and the December holidays.
At the end of 2015, it was announced that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) could not use the Arrive Alive campaign anymore, as it had been registered as a brand. The safety campaign remains in place, operating under the name 365 Days of Road Safety Programme, which would focus on creating awareness all year round.
The goals of the campaign are to:
- reduce the number of road-traffic accidents in general, and fatalities in particular, by 5% compared with the same period the previous year
- improve road-user compliance with traffic laws
- forge improved working relationships between traffic authorities in the various spheres of government.
The campaign emphasised that the reduction in road deaths was urgent and non-negotiable. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) pays out about R15 billion to victims of road accidents every year.
UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020
South Africa is a signatory to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. The UN General Assembly resolution proclaiming a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 – 2020 was tabled by the Government of the Russian Federation and co-sponsored by more than 90 countries.
The initiative aims to save lives by halting the increasing trends in road traffic deaths and injuries world-wide.
It is based on the following pillars:
- Pillar 1 – building road safety management capacity
- Pillar 2 – improving the safety of road infrastructure and broader transport networks
- Pillar 3 – further developing the safety of vehicles
- Pillar 4 – enhancing the behaviour of road users
- Pillar 5 – improving post-crash response.
As part of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 campaign, government is targeting the reduction in fatalities by 50% in 2020.
South Africa’s efforts are focused on four key areas:
- fatigue or driver fitness
- drinking and driving
- use of seat belts
- pedestrian safety.
A key aspect of the integrated Road Safety Management Programme is increasing pedestrian safety. In planning and design, Sanral provides for interventions such as traffic calming, safe stopping areas for public transport, and pedestrian bridges. The DoT also engages communities adjacent to national roads to find solutions to pedestrians’ needs.
To contribute to safety on the roads, Sanral has developed a database of projects that need to be implemented in areas that are hazardous to pedestrians. The solutions range from pedestrian bridges, pavements, road safety education and traffic calming measures.
When it comes to managing safety on freeways, Sanral’s incident management system, supported by central coordination centres, embraces interaction between emergency services and law enforcement agencies on all declared national routes.
Source: South Africa Yearbook 2015/2016
Government on road safety
Speeches and statements
Opinion pieces
- Yes, we can reduce deaths on the road ahead, 7 Apr 2016
- Put the brakes on dangerous driving, 3 Dec 2013
- Billions lost due to road fatalities, 16 Oct 2013
- Putting brakes to the road carnage, 26 Mar 2013
