Minister Dipuo Peter calls on all road users, particularly public transport operators to make road safety their priority given the spate of weekend road crashes and fatalities that continues unabated involving public transport vehicles. The Minister’s call follows a bus carnage that took place in the early hours of Sunday, 16th October 2016.
The carnage took place on the N1, Touwsriver in the Western Cape. A Bus operated by DMJ Transport got involved in a single vehicle overturned type crash that resulted in thirteen (13) fatalities at this point, with forty-three (43) injured persons taken to hospital. The investigation is underway to determine the cause of the crash.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) investigation team together with other Law Enforcement Agencies are hard at work at the scene of the carnage.
“I urge the management of DMJ Bus Services to co-operate with the investigations to ensure a speedy conclusion of the preliminary report of the incident”, said Minister Peters.
In the recent past, Minister Peters made a call to Bus Operators to ensure that their buses are roadworthy and that the bus drivers take body rest and work under favourable conditions.
This carnage comes during the October Transport month, when the Department of Transport and all its State Owned Companies showcase progress in the modernisation of public transport infrastructure, in rail, road, aviation as well as maritime transportation as well as progress in the implementation of the 365 Road Safety Strategy.
“Road safety must always be at the top of our priorities. Drivers should always consider the threats and possible worst case scenarios – and plan to avoid as many of these as possible,” cautions Minister Peters.
Minister Peters said road safety is a different kind of struggle which requires commitment and dedication from everyone to ensure that these unnecessary deaths on our roads are drastically reduced.
“Our road safety analysis brings to the fore a very painful reality of the role played by un-roadworthy vehicles. Key to the vehicle factors that contributed to the crashes are tyre bursts, faulty brakes and smooth tyres”, Minister Peters pointed out.
The Minister asserts that as South Africa, in line with the United Nations Decade of Action for road safety, we owe it to our country and the continent to achieve the Decade of Action’s goal of reducing road fatalities by half by year 2020.
“We are at the final stages to complete our National Road Safety Strategy, which clearly articulate our road safety plan and those of our stakeholders to fight this scourge of road fatalities. We have engaged in this struggle together with many stakeholders including faith based organisations, road freight associations, the taxi industry, bus operators, artists and others to inculcate a culture of road safety awareness,” Minister confirmed.
“I commend the swift response from the RTMC, the South Africa Police as well as emergency services for ensuring that they preserve the lives of the victims of today carnage and to continue to inform the next of keen of the deceased and the injured about this carnage.
In this regard the RTMC together with other law enforcement agencies will continue with their investigations, whilst the Road Accident Fund, extends their services to the families of the deceased as well as the survivors of this carnage,” remarked Minister Peters.
Minister Peters passes her heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the deceased and wishes those in hospital a speedy recovery.
Enquiries:
Ishmael Mnisi
Cell: 072 566 0827
