Mr Jeff Radebe, Minister of Transport at Nkgopoleng Secondary School,
Sasolburg, Zamdela
15 January 2009
Programme director, Head of Department Community Safety and Transport in the
Free State, Mr Klaas
Minister of Education, Comrade Naledi Pandor
Deputy Minister of Provincial Affairs and Local Government, Comrade Nomatyala
Hangana
MEC for Community Safety and Transport in the Free State Province, Comrade Ace
Magashule
MEC for Education in the Free State, Comrade Casca Mokitlane
The Director-General of Transport, Ms Mpumi Mpofu
The CEO of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), Mr Ranthoko
Rakgoale
Executive Mayor of Fezile Dabi District Municipality, Comrade Ramogwase
Executive Mayor of Metsimaholo Municipality, Comrade Fezi Ngubentombi
Councillors present
Our senior officials from National, Provincial and Local Governments
Distinguished members of the media
Invited guests
Ladies and gentlemen
It is indeed with honour that I am here today to address a full-house
contingent of colleagues and the media. I am also pleased to note that our
Arrive Alive Campaign has raised a huge interest and was topical in the media
throughout the festive season.
Today, as Minister of Transport, I am declaring the fatal crash statistics
report of the Arrive Alive Campaign for the period 1 December 2008 to 11
January 2009.
Firstly, let me congratulate the CEO of the RTMC, Mr Ranthoko Rakgoale and
his team for putting together an excellent system which enables us to collect,
process and disseminate information from the Arrive Alive Information Centre.
As you may be aware the RTMC records crashes which have been verified and
officially reported to the South African Police Service (SAPS). As part of
striving for innovation within the accident reporting and analysis environment,
and aligning ourselves with the international community, RTMC later in the year
will be announcing the introduction of a system to provide real-time road crash
reporting system. This will be a major innovation in the field of road traffic
management as we need the statistics to analyse trends and plan interventions
to deal with problematic areas.
My word of appreciation also goes to all my provincial colleagues and
comrades, MECs responsible for transport, roads, traffic and community safety
in all nine provinces for their initiatives, their participation and dedication
to this nation-wide programme. As you all know, our MECs were on the ground
during the festive season. Most of them were in their retro-reflective jackets
at roadblocks issuing information pamphlets and interacting with the
public.
I also took time to join our law enforcement officers to give them support
for their excellent contribution in saving lives. Allow me to take this
opportunity to thank all our law enforcement agencies, our traffic departments
both at provincial and local levels, the South African Police Service, the
South African National Defence Force, the Emergency Services (Ambulance Service
and Fire Brigade) and the Department of Health. Our doctors and nurses are
often forgotten. They continue to play an immeasurable contribution at
hospitals.
May I also extend a word of thanks to the media, for the valuable
contribution you are making towards our programmes. I wish to record my
appreciation, for the role you have played in support of the Arrive Alive
Campaign and other associated programmes.
Our government is committed to the values of transparency and accountability
and therefore welcomes media attention. We know that our five-year mandate is
not a blank cheque. Legitimacy must be recreated every day through the
sensitivity with which we attend to people's changing needs, expressed through
the demands thrown up by the myriad organisations of civil society.
During my tenure as Minister from 2004/08 the trend of fatalities for
December only has been as follows: 2004 - 1 237, 2005 â 1 454 (17.5 percent
increase), 2006 â 1 467 (0.9 percent increase), 2007 â 1 535 (4.6 percent
increase) and 2008 â 1 130 (26.4 percent decrease). As can be seen this is the
first real drop in the number of fatalities. I am sure the trajectory we have
taken to improving safety on our roads is a correct one. We will deepen our
efforts as the African National Congress (ANC) government to improving the
lives of our people.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I remind you that the main objective of the Arrive
Alive Campaign since its inception has been "to reduce the number of fatalities
by at least 5 percent when compared to the same period the previous year."
The RTMC has consulted with provincial, local and metropolitan traffic
authorities to come up with a battle plan to combat road traffic crashes. The
plan will ensure that road traffic management is well co-ordinated and bring
coherence in the field of road traffic management.
Ladies and gentlemen I am sure you are aware of the variables at play when
we measure our success or failure. I am going to do an analysis of those
variables before I indicate what happened this past festive season. The context
and analyses thereof is crucial for better understanding. An increase or
reduction in the number of crashes does not just happen. It happens because of
a number of contributory factors.
As I declare the statistics for this phase of the campaign, I am proud to
announce that our objective was achieved and exceeded by 26.12 percent.
Vehicle population
The number of registered vehicles in South Africa in December 2007 was 9 068
120 and has increased by 236 388 to 9 304 508. This was an increase of 2.61
percent. This simply means we have contained and in fact reduced the number
fatal crashes despite the increase in vehicle population.
Driver population
The number of driving licenses issued in December 2007 was 8 129 674 and in
December 2008 was 8 457 718. The increase in new drivers was 328 044 which was
a 4.04 percent change. It is common knowledge that new drivers are less
experienced and many of them are young and in the high-risk group.
Traffic volumes
A marked increase in traffic volumes was recorded at Queenstown on the N6
where 102 723 (118.88 percent) more vehicles were counted in both directions in
December to January 2008/09 as compared to a similar period in 2007/08. Another
increase of 24 151 (7.50 percent) in traffic volumes was recorded at
Verkeerdevlei to and from Johannesburg and Bloemfontein.
There were minor decreases in traffic volumes at:
* Pretoria and Polokwane N1 from 489 505 to 437 375 resulting in 10.65 percent
change
* Johannesburg and Durban N3 from 419 714 to 401 755 resulting in 4.28 percent
change
* Middleburg N4 from 292 251 to 282 771 resulting in 3.24 percent change
At areas where there was an increase in traffic volumes, these seem not to have
had a negative influence on the fatal crashes and fatalities in the two
provinces of Eastern Cape and Free State as they recorded fatality decreases of
36.84 percent and 9.60 percent respectively.
I must remind members of the media that we have noted the following from
motorists:
* staggering of travelling not to coincide with peak traffic periods of schools
closure and factories closing
* preference of alternative routes as can be seen from the convergence and high
traffic volumes on the N6 Queenstown
* avoidance of national routes as many roads are under heavy construction. It
is generally known that at constructions sites there are delays of long queues
which normally irritates and makes drivers impatient.
Whilst the media focus was on national roads in terms of the real problem
the focus is on feeder and rural roads including built-up areas.
National roads become a major focus when there is mass exodus from the main
towns linked to travelling long distances, closure schools and factories
closing. Once holidaymakers reach their destination the focus shifts to
recreation sites and residential areas. For instance, 700 people died on rural
roads as compared to 301 on urban roads. This is the kind of data gathering
that informs how we deploy our resources especially where major law enforcement
operations were launched. The truth we got to use factual information rather
that general assumptions.
The total number of crashes for the period December 2008 to January 2009 has
come down from 1515 to 1003 resulting in reduction of 512 (33.8 percent) as
compared to the period December 2007/08. All the provinces have recorded a
lower total in the number of fatal crashes.
Pedestrian crashes
The highest crash type was pedestrian crashes; a total of 358 fatal crashes,
translating to 35.69 percent of all crashes in December 2008, which resulted in
the death of 436 pedestrians. Once again, I wish to express my deepest concern
about the high number of pedestrians who die on our roads every day. Together,
government and local communities must intensify pedestrian safety campaigns to
address this problem.
As you can see, there is progress but we must do better than this.
Number of fatalities
The summarised provincial figures were recorded as follows:
Gauteng
Percentage change: 49.61
KwaZulu-Natal
Percentage change: 22.87
Western Cape
Percentage change: 46.97
Eastern Cape
Percentage change: 36.84
Free State
Percentage change: 9.60
Mpumalanga
Percentage change: 32.85
North West
Percentage change: 33.09
Limpopo
Percentage change: 3.21
Northern Cape
Percentage change: 20.51
Total
Percentage change:
31.12
The total number of persons who died was 1 851 in 2007/08 as compared to 1
275 in 2008/09 in crashes involving 1 260 vehicles, motor cycles and
bicycles.
On a provincial percentage basis, Gauteng showed the biggest decrease (49.61
percent) with a difference of 189 from 381 to 192 in the number of fatalities
and the smallest decrease was in the Free State (9.60 percent) whilst Limpopo
was the only province recording an increase of 3.21 percent from 187 to
193.
In short, we have achieved a reduction of 31.12 percent in fatalities and a
reduction of 33.8 percent in the number of fatal crashes as well as a reduction
of 32 percent in the number of vehicles involved.
Crashes and fatalities per road user group
Fatalities per road user group for 2007/08 as compared to 2008/09 were as
follows:
* drivers decreased from 488 to 345 which was a change of 29.30 percent
* passengers decreased from 648 to 494 which was a change of 23.77
percent
* pedestrians decreased from 715 to 436 which was a change of 39.02
percent.
Fatalities per age group
Fatalities were as follows:
* 0-9 yrs: 73 (5.73 percent)
* 10-19 yrs: 78 (6.12 percent)
* 20-29 yrs: 116 (9.10 percent)
* 30-39 yrs: 141 (11.06 percent)
* 40-49 yrs: 86 (6.75 percent)
These statistics reveal that the age group mostly affected is between 20 to
39 years with a combined total of 257 (20.16 percent). These are the
economically active persons in our society from whom a lot is still expected by
both their families and the country. We cannot afford to let this go on
unabated. I appeal to everyone to ensure that we all play our role to reverse
this needless loss of valuable lives in our roads network.
Vehicle crash types
* Pedestrians: 358
* single vehicle overturned: 321
* head-on collisions: 200
The second highest crash type has been single vehicle overturned vehicles
which is most likely a result of fatigue and tyre bursts as most motorists tend
to undertake long trips without taking proper precautions such as having a
break every 200 kilometres or every two hours or driving with worn-out
tyres.
Although there was a reduction in the number of pedestrian killed this time,
it is sad to note that the highest crash type has been that involving
pedestrians once again.
Number and types of vehicles involved in fatal crashes
Sedan vehicles and station wagons topped the list of vehicle types involved
in crashes with the number being 560 (44.44 percent), LDVs (bakkies) were
second with 242 or 19.21 percent, trucks were 58 (4.60 percent) mini-bus taxis
were 190 (15.08 percent) and buses were 19 (1.51 percent) were involved in
crashes. The total number of vehicles involved in crashes, decreased from 1853
to 1260.
Fatal crashes per day of week and time of day
Most crashes happened between 18:00 and 23:00 in the evenings. Early morning
crashes just after midnight (00:00 to 01:00), increased by more than 100
percent. As during previous years more than 60 percent of the crashes happened
on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The occurrence of crashes per day of the
week and time of the day followed the same pattern as in the past.
Economic cost of crashes
The cost of fatal crashes dropped by R649 913 544 (R649 million) or 36.12
percent from a cost of R1 799 584 240 (R1.8 billion) in December 2007 to
January 2008 to a cost of R1 149 670 696 (R1.15 billion in December
2008/January 2009.
Law enforcement operations
In conclusion let me spend some time on law enforcement conducted.
I am sure many felt the wrath of tougher law enforcement. The RTMC assisted
many traffic authorities with additional resources such as additional patrol
vehicles and roadblock trailers in order to increase visibility and effective
policing of our roads. Those who transgressed the law were either fined or
arrested. We are not just talking, we mean business as:
* 3 851 drunken drivers were arrested
* 1 646 speed fines were issued and some were locked-up in jail
* 77 overloading notices were issued
* 399 notices ranging from un-roadworthy vehicles and non-wearing of seatbelts
were also issued.
Reported arrests drunken driving accounted for 64 percent, speed 27 percent
and other offences 9 percent.
A total of 5 973 notices and arrests were effected during the period. We
will continue to act in uncompromising way to strike a serious blow to those
who do not respect traffic laws.
I thank you
Issued by: Department of Transport
15 January 2009
Source: Department of Transport (http://www.transport.gov.za/)
