Minister Fikile Mbalula on release of the 2022 Easter weekend statistics and update on driving license card backlog

Minister Mbalula’s statement on the occasion of the release of the statistics for the 2022 Easter weekend and update on driving licence card backlog

We have come from a unique Easter period characterised by a number of peculiar circumstances that impacted the travel patterns of many holiday makers and our Easter road safety campaign. This Easter period was marked by incessant rainfalls throughout the country and floods that ravaged homes, infrastructure and left many families devasted in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as parts of Eastern Cape. 

Churches with massive following such as the Zion Christian Church, did not have their annual Easter pilgrimage in compliance with the Covid-19 restrictions. 

An analysis of traffic volumes on all major highways indicate that the number of cars on the roads remained the same except in KwaZulu Natal where traffic volumes decreased by approximately 21% because of floods.

It will be remis of me if I do not commend the motorists for displaying good behaviour and willingness to comply with the rules of the road during the Easter period. Law enforcement statistics show that there were fewer people prosecuted for speeding, drunken driving, driving unlicensed vehicle and driving without fastening seatbelts this year compared to previous years.

Our analysis shows that while the trend of fatalities per time of the day continues to show that most fatalities occur at night, a new phenomenon was noted this Easter with fatalities showing a sharp spike in the early hours of the morning between 4 and 5am.

This includes the bus crash that occurred on the N1 near Leu Gamka on Good Friday.

A total of two thousand three hundred and ninety-five (2,395) traffic fines were issued for speeding this year compared to five thousand nine hundred and twenty-three (5,923) last year. At total of three thousand four hundred and ninety-four (3,494) motorists were fined for operating unlicensed vehicles compared to five thousand six hundred and seventy-seven (5,677) the previous year.  Two thousand one hundred and thirty-four (2,134) drivers were fined for driving without fastening seatbelts this year compared to two thousand three hundred and fifty-one (2,351) the previous year.

The peculiar circumstances of this year’s Easter period also had an impact on the number of vehicles that were involved in road crashes and in the number of people who died on the road. The number of crashes declined by 28.6% resulting in a 31.5% decline in the number of fatalities on our roads.

All Provinces recorded a decline in fatalities, except for the Western Cape and Mpumalanga.  The Western Cape recorded a 30.8% increase from 26 fatalities in 2021 to 34 this year.  Mpumalanga recorded a 27.8% increase from 18 road fatalities the previous year to 23 this year.

Other Provinces recorded a decline in road fatalities in the following manner.

  • KwaZulu-Natal registered a 61.1% decline from 54 road deaths the previous year to 21 this year.
  • Northern Cape registered a 57.1% decline from 7 road fatalities the previous year to 3 this year.
  • Free State registered a 53.8% decline from 13 deaths the previous year to 6 this year.
  • North West registered a 45% decline from 20 deaths the previous year to 11 this year.
  • Limpopo registered a 44.1% decline from 34 deaths the previous year to 19 this year.
  • Gauteng registered a 33.3% decline from 36 deaths the previous year to 24 this year.
  • Eastern Cape registered a 25.9% decline from 27 deaths the previous year to 20 this year.

A total of 162 people perished on our roads this year compared to 235 last year, resulting from 134 fatal crashes this year compared to 189 the previous year. Most of the crashes occurred on Friday and Saturday.

I take this opportunity to convey our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost loved ones during the five days of the Easter long weekend travel period. 

I also convey a word of gratitude and appreciation to all law enforcement officers, who worked long hours, sacrificing family time, to help us save lives on South Africa’s roads.

The success we have achieved this Easter will add momentum to our efforts to reduce road fatalities by 25% by 2024.  Improving our law enforcement capability and visibility, as well as upscaling public safety campaigns will continue to gain traction.

We have made a commitment to make a telling difference in our law enforcement interventions by ensuring that our officers act without fear or favour while maintaining constant high levels of visibility 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Driver competence remains one of the most important pillars of our road safety interventions.  With only a week left to the final deadline for the extended grace period for renewal of driving licence cards that expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021, we encourage all those who have yet to come forward to renew their licences to do so without delay.  There will be no further extension of the grace period beyond this period. 

We will step up our law enforcement interventions in order to penalise those who wilfully disregard the law and fail to renew their expired licences, while assisting those with genuine challenges.

To deal with the expected increase in the demand for services, we are working with the Road Traffic Management Corporation, Provincial and local authorities to implement an extensive plan to assist those who will be seeking to renew their licences.

This plan is already operational in all Provinces and entails the following elements:

  • Extending daily operating hours of the driving licence centres by two hours during the week and opening on weekends, both Saturday and Sundays, until 31 May 2022.
  • Allowing walk-ins in addition to online bookings in Gauteng and Eastern Cape, where online bookings are operational, until 31 May 2022.  In essence, this means that a motorist who shows up at a DLTC to renew their licence will not be turned away merely because they have not made a booking on the online system.
  • Provinces will undertake a robust communication drive to encourage motorist to renew their licence and calling on those with online bookings to honour their slots.
  • Enhancing the processing and production of driving licence cards through the introduction of the smart enrolment project which will provide online driving licence renewal capability.

Currently the country has a backlog of 1.3 million expired driving licence cards that have yet to be renewed.

Analysis of the backlog by age of drivers who have not renewed their driving licence cards show that motorists between the ages of 25 and 50 years constitute 68% of drivers who have yet to renew their licences cards. 

This is the age cohort that is mostly driving both as professionals and private citizen going to work and places of leisure.   

Our analysis further shows that an average of 25% of motorists in Gauteng, who book licence renewals slots online do not show up for their bookings. In the Eastern Cape motorists who do not show up for their booked slots stands at 30%.

Motorist must understand that they have to utilise their booked slots to help us tackle the backlog in a meaningful way. We urge these drivers to ensure that they honour their commitment and take up the slots, which slots would ordinarily have been used by others who have difficulty in finding slots closer to where they live.

We have overcome the capacity constraints that delayed the production of driving licence cards due to the machine that broke down last year. The Driving Licence Card Account trading entity is now working 24-hour daily shifts to clear the backlog of driving licence cards.

As on 27 April 2022, we had produced a total of seven hundred and eighty-nine thousand six hundred (789,600) driving licence cards. 

This leaves a backlog of cards to be printed at five hundred and ninety-six thousand five hundred and thirteen (596,513).  The backlog that resulted from the breakdown of the machine in November 2021 has since been cleared. 

The DLCA has ramped up its production capability and will be able to clear the current backlog of cards to be printed by the end of June 2022.

We have done everything to remove obstacles that were an impediment in the renewal of driving licences.  It is now up to the motoring public to overcome their inertia and comply.  Our law enforcement authorities will be extremely ruthless in dealing with drivers who flout the law and drive without a valid driving licence card and cannot produce evidence that they have renewed their licence and are awaiting its issue.

Over the last few days there have been reports relating to the shortage of jet fuel at OR Tambo International Airport.  Following my engagements with the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, we mandated the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), the Departments of Transport and Mineral Resources & Energy, to put measures in place to address the jet fuel shortage experienced at OR Tambo International Airport.  This challenge was a consequence of the floods in KwaZulu-Natal that affected transport infrastructure and disrupted supply chains.

We are pleased that the Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) has worked tirelessly to resolve this challenge, working with relevant stakeholders and other organs of state.  The jet fuel supply to OR Tambo International has now been stabilised.  ACSA has issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), advising all airlines, both international and domestic, on measures being implemented to obviate disruptions to air services.

The aviation sector is a critical enabler of economic activity which requires our support in ensuring that it makes its contribution to economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 devastation. 

We therefore wish to reassure the aviation sector that there is adequate fuel at OR Tambo International Airport and at all our national airports.  ACSA is doing everything within its power working closely with oil suppliers to ensure there is adequate fuel stock at all times.  We further encourage the airlines to communicate with ACSA, in order to clear any uncertainty on this matter, rather than resorting to drastic measures such as cancelling flights.

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