Cop-out on ‘road of death’ drivers

Even though it is not far from the Dinokeng Game Reserve north of Pretoria, the R573 road – commonly known as the Moloto Road or, more histrionically, the “road of death”– has a metaphorical elephant squatting right down in the middle of it.

And, nobody – whether it be the cops, traffic authorities, the SA National Roads Limited (Sanral) or the minister of transport – seems to be able to see it.

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While we have had numerous cleansing ceremonies to rid the road of the supposed evil spirits which cause the death toll to continue climbing; and while billions have been spent by Sanral on improving the road, the deadly elephant smiles on.

The reality that everyone is ignoring is that it is the killer drivers, and not the “road of death”, which is responsible for the carnage.

Anyone who has driven that road will testify to the absolute disregard most drivers have for the rules of the road, coupled with their seeming inability to judge distance and speed.

This points only to two things: inadequate, or no, driver training and illegal driving licences.

Research done by Wits University in 2017 into the road incidents found that “the majority of these accidents were caused by human behaviour, such as reckless driving, speeding, drinking and driving”.

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Ominously, though, it went on: “The relative invisibility of traffic officials on the Moloto Road partly explains why road users engage in such behaviours.

Increased visibility of traffic officials may encourage change in road user behaviour and help reduce the number of road traffic accidents on the Moloto Road.”

The fact that the death toll has not been reduced points clearly to the lack of law enforcement.

Start busting the unlicensed idiots behind the wheel, impound unroadworthy vehicles and tackle moving traffic violations. Then, you’ll start to see a difference.