6 December 2006
Since the start of festive season, on 1 December to date, the death toll on
our roads is 215 from 189 fatal crashes. 79 of the fatalities are passengers,
74 pedestrians and 62 drivers. The breakdown of the fatalities per province is
as follows: KwaZulu-Natal 41, Gauteng 36, Western Cape 21, Eastern Cape 23,
Free State 18, Mpumalanga 25, North West 28, Limpopo 18, and Northern Cape 5.
This situation is worrying and requires road users to exercise extreme caution
and vigilance at all times.
To deal with the low levels of safety, traffic authorities, under the
co-ordination of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), will heighten
their enforcement activities to 1 000 traffic checking activities daily. There
will be more patrol vehicles on the road and law enforcement officers and
unmarked vehicles will do more spot checks, static and roving roadblocks.
Motorists who disobey traffic rules can expect stricter penalties for
violations. The Road Traffic Management Corporation is co-ordinating this
Rolling Enforcement Plan with support from traffic authorities.
With the high number of passenger fatalities, the Arrive Alive campaign
reminds vehicle occupants that it is the law to wear a seat belt if there is
one on the seat where you are sitting. This applies to front and back seat
passengers, and drivers (including taxi and enforcement agencies). By
buckling-up you can save your life and prevent serious injury if you are
involved in a crash. Insist that your children also buckle up.
Ninety percent of fatal crashes are attributed to bad driver behaviour and
attitude. Motorists should brace themselves for increased enforcement
activities during this festive season and beyond.
Enquiries:
Ntau Letebele
Cell: 082 923 9194
Issued by: Department of Transport and Road Traffic Management
Corporation
6 December 2006
Source: Department of transport (http://www.transport.gov.za)
