We have just been through a long weekend and now headed for the Easter season. The trend is such that during long weekends most road users’ travel to different destinations with a high exodus of pilgrims on the way to respective destinations and some ignore the rules of the road and that could lead to fatalities.
Statistics have shown us that while speed is a factor in most crashes, alcohol is another major contributory factor accounting for approximately 47 percent of drivers and 70 percent of adult pedestrians involved in fatal crashes. Reports of fatal crashes indicate that human factors played a major role (speed, pedestrian jay walking and drunk driving) in most of the provinces, with Gauteng where almost 50 percent was ascribed to excessive speed.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation is extremely concerned about the high spate of fatal crashes that occurred countrywide during this month where both young and old were victims of reckless and inconsiderate driving. The Acting Chief Executive Officer of the RTMC, Mr Collins Letsoalo, warned that speed, drinking and driving are a trend among road users.
“What is extremely worrying is the negative behaviour that some of our motorists take to the roads, where disobeying the rules of the road are the order of the day. We urge all drivers to exercise extreme caution particularly when ferrying passengers, as the responsibility of getting people safely to their destinations is in the hands of the driver. The recent loss of lives that has been experienced could have been prevented if all drivers exercised patience and adherence to the rules of the road.”
The battle plan is in place to ensure compliance on the roads to rid our roads of bad road users.
Road safety is everybody’s responsibility. A road crash is someone’s fault. Don’t let it be yours.
We encourage all road users to report bad driving on 0861 400 800
Media contact:
Thandi Moya
Cell: 071 680 3445
Issued by: Road Traffic Management Corporation
24 March 2010
