Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called on all South Africans to go all out to save lives on our roads this Easter.
“This Easter, we want to make sure that no innocent blood is spilt. To this end, the transport family is going all out to save lives on our roads. You will find members of the transport family on roads all around the country. We call on all citizens to join us because together we can put an end to this carnage on our roads. “As of today, Thursday, 1 April), the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) becomes operative for the Johannesburg Metro Police Department and the Tshwane Metro Police Department. As government, we are strengthening our fight to make our roads safe. We are calling upon all South Africans to join us in this fight for safer roads by simply obeying all road rules, making the safety of other road users a priority and putting ubuntu into action on our roads. Responsible citizens do not need to be policed all the time,” said the Minister.
From 6h30 this morning, Thursday, 1 April, Minister Ndebele was at the traffic help centre on the N1 at Midrand in Gauteng, where the minister joined law enforcement agencies and emergency services monitoring traffic on the N1 towards Polokwane. Traffic volumes on this stretch of road will increase significantly as millions of people head for the annual pilgrimage to Moria City in Polokwane.
Traffic officers are out in full force all over the country and those who commit any offence will face the consequences of their actions.
As part of the national rolling enforcement plan, yesterday, Wednesday, 31 March in Gauteng alone more than 20 commuter buses and 40 mini-bus taxis were found to be unroadworthy and were discontinued from operating. This brings to more than 1000 the number of unroadworthy vehicles removed from the country’s roads since 1 March 2010.
Minister Ndebele has once again appealed to public transport operators, particularly operators of buses and taxis, to ensure that their drivers are adequately rested before embarking on a journey. “There will be dedicated law enforcement operations targeting public transport vehicles and drivers, particularly buses and taxis. Together with the labour movement, we call upon public transport operators to ensure that their drivers are given adequate time to rest before they embark on a journey. We cannot put the lives of innocent drivers and commuters at unnecessary risk. Drivers subjected to unlawful working conditions must refuse to work,” the Minister said.
Earlier today, Thursday, 1 April, more than 1 600 vehicles per hour were recorded at the Mooi River Toll, 1 100 vehicles at the Tugela Toll, 675 vehicles at the Wilge Toll, 1 085 vehicles at the Dehoek Toll and 1 800 vehicles at the Marianhill Toll.
All road users are urged to report bad driving to 0861 400 800.
Citizens are also urged to support the South African National Blood Service and donate blood to patients in dire need of it during the Easter holidays.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 6444 050
Issued by: Department of Transport
1 April 2010
