The Transport Education and Training Authority (Teta) launched its festive season road safety campaign, Phepha #SeeTomorrow.

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Phepha is a Zulu word that means “be aware” and the campaign is aimed at both motorists and pedestrians.

The purpose of the campaign is to encourage South Africans to exercise caution on the roads, especially during the festive season when a lot of travelling in and out of Gauteng is experienced.

Teta believes that by encouraging road users to make small changes in their daily habits on the road, some headway can be made in decreasing road carnages.

This includes having a sober buddy to drive you home after a night of indulging to avoiding the habit of texting and driving or walking.

These messages are aimed at ensuring that everyone can enjoy the festive season period and travel safely to and from their various destinations.

“The Gauteng roads are always busy, especially during major holidays such as Easter and Christmas. That is why we have committed ourselves to promote road safety through the Phepha campaign and other similar projects throughout the year,” said Teta CEO Maphefo Anno-Frempong.

During December, January and February 2022, the campaign will be activated in various parts of Gauteng, where the Phepha teams will be spreading their awareness message to people at malls, taxi ranks and other similar locations.

The campaign’s messaging is focused on four key peak road usage periods: long-distance travel for festive season holidays, local road use during festive celebrations, travel back home after the festive season, and travel during the back to school and back to work period in the new year.

“We want to encourage our fellow South Africans to be responsible on the roads. We are not discouraging people from enjoying the festivities of the year-end. Rather, we want to encourage them to make some changes to their behaviour on the roads, so that they can arrive to their destinations safely.

“Simple changes like pedestrians wearing bright clothing at night, drinking water regularly or remembering to stop every two hours during a long-distance trip can be life-saving,” said Anno-Frempong.

Lerato Monyane, Ekurhuleni EMPD media liaison officer, said some of the simple things to check is that a vehicle is roadworthy and checking the light of the vehicle’s main beam, dipped beam, direction lights, reverse lights, brake lights, hooter/audible device are all in good working condition.

“Open the bonnet to check if there are any oil leaks, if the tyres of the vehicle are still in good condition and if there is a spare wheel, along with the jack and a spanner. Don’t forget the warning triangle.

“Check the windscreen has no cracks that can obstruct the view of the driver whilst driving, the mirrors are all intact and wipers are in good working condition. The steering wheel must not have extreme free play. Make sure the clutch, brakes and accelerator are in good working condition.

“Verify if the disk and your driver’s license are still valid,” said Monyane.