Traffic officers will be circling drinking holes this Xmas

As part of the department of transport’s effort to strengthen traffic law enforcement on the road during the holiday season, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula says the department will have sustained visibility of traffic officers on roads near entertainment activities where drunken driving is most likely to occur.

Speaking at the launch of the festive season road safety campaign in the Free State yesterday, Mbalula said they had committed to ensuring the interventions translated into holding drivers at fault accountable.

They also wanted to ensure officers were not tempted to accept bribes.

“One of the key drivers of a culture of impunity is the prevalence of corruption in the form of bribes.

“Undercover sting operations targeting motorists who pay bribes and law enforcement officers who solicit and accept these bribes will be a defining character of our fight against corruption.

“The capacity for such operations will be developed with jurisdiction over all traffic law enforcement officials across all spheres of government and in partnership with the National Prosecuting Authority,” he said.

New law enforcement technologies include evidential breath alcohol testers, vehicles fitted with moving violations recording devices, number plate recognition technology, mobile vehicle testing stations, as well as crash simulators and drones to hold those who break the law to account and minimise the loss of lives.

“The carnage on our roads is a crisis that demands of us to think differently and act with singular resolve. It can never be acceptable that 14,000 lives are lost on our roads each year. Human behaviour is at the centre of this crisis.

“Our interventions cannot be business as usual. We must take drastic measures to change behaviour and save the many lives that are lost on our roads daily.

“While our traffic law enforcement activities will intensify, we must equally inculcate a culture of responsible behaviour by road users,” Mbalula said.

He also announced that the minister of correctional services had agreed to establish a special court to ensure the speedy handling of traffic transgressions across the country.

“We will move with speed in ensuring that we achieve the goal of making traffic policing a 24/7 activity. While the processes are under way to formalise this, we are mobilising the necessary resources to ensure that the provincial and municipal authorities can achieve round the clock visibility through creative means,” Mbalula added.

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