On 26 October 2005, the United Nations (UN) endorsed this global day to be observed every third Sunday in November each year, making it a major advocacy day for road traffic injury prevention. The World Health Organisation (WHO) and the UN Road Safety Collaboration encourage governments and NGOs around the world to commemorate this day. In March 2010, the UN General Assembly resolution proclaimed a Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011 to 2020. Its goal is to stabilise and then reduce the forecast level of road traffic fatalities around the world by increasing activities conducted at national, regional and global levels.
Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has called on South Africans to join the global movement for road safety. “On this World Day of Remembrance for Road Accident Victims, we call on all South Africans to take an active part in the global movement for road safety. On 10 September 2010, we announced South Africa’s ‘Make Roads Safe’ Campaign as well as the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP).
We are progressing well with the establishment of Community Road Safety Councils in municipalities across the country so that communities can be more involved in road safety at grassroots. From 1 to 31 October 2010, 1 053 million vehicles and drivers were stopped and checked and thousands of fines issued for various traffic offences. This marked the start of a major law enforcement drive in South Africa. It reflects our commitment to reducing road carnage by half in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We urge everyone to sign the petition to Make Roads Safe by visiting the Make Roads Safe face book page hosted by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) and backed by SABC News.
“In due course, we will announce the date for implementation the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act. AARTO seeks to change driver behaviour with a view to cutting down road deaths drastically because behaviour is a huge cause of road crashes.
“The truth remains: we are losing our best people to road accidents. Many more are maimed because of the way we drive. It is our children, our brothers and sisters, our sole breadwinners who are losing life and limb. This is a battle for the entire nation, the whole continent and the world. This war is to end the trauma and death caused by road crashes. We however have hope. We therefore call for partnerships with organised labour, business, the religious community and civil society to end this scourge. The carnage on our roads must stop.
“We can’t go on pretending day by day that someone someday will come and make a change - road safety is our absolute responsibility and it can only be through us that we transform to a good image in terms of road traffic horrors. All of us want to end this carnage. All of us must end this carnage. It is now or never,” Minister Ndebele said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has this to say in a statement for this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims: “We mourn the estimated 1.3 million people who lose their lives on the world’s streets and highways each year, and we renew our resolve to prevent further deaths. Many tragedies can be avoided through a set of proven, simple measures that benefit not only individuals and families but society at large. Earlier this year, the UN General Assembly declared the first-ever ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety,’ providing an opportunity for global action. I call on Member States, international agencies, civil society organisations, businesses and community leaders to ensure that the Decade leads to real improvements. As a step in this direction, governments should release their national plans for the Decade when it is launched globally on 11 May 2011”.
Enquiries:
Logan Maistry
Cell: 083 6444 050
