Transport MEC aims for safer festive season on the roads
To reduce fatalities, law enforcement officers and road safety promotion officers have been deployed at critical points across the province since the start of the 2023/24 Festive Season Road Safety campaign.
POLOKWNE – Transport MEC Florence Radzilani, has urged all road users travelling within the province to take extra precautions during this critical period of the festive season.
Radzilani raised serious concern after receiving the provincial accident report for the past two weekends.
The department in a statement said their reports found that human behaviour was the main cause for the high road fatality rate that was recorded during this time.
While the department did not announce any road fatality cases in the city since the launch of the 2023 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign on December 2, a sedan collided with the trailer of a truck in Lydenberg recently. The driver of the sedan and six other passengers died on the scene. The passengers are said to have been on their way to a church function in Mpumalanga when the incident occurred on the R37.
Elsewhere in Mokopane and Bela-Bela, drivers were arrested for driving under the influence.
The “alarming number” of pedestrian fatalities, along with drunken driving was cause for concern, the MEC stated.
“From the 10 male motorists arrested for drunken driving, none were arrested in Capricorn, according to information provided by the department on Saturday. Instead, two were from Mopani in Leboeng, five from Vhembe at Dzanani, one from Northam and two from Modimolle in the Waterberg districts.”
To reduce fatalities, law enforcement officers and road safety promotion officers have been deployed at critical points across the province since the start of the 2023/24 Festive Season Road Safety campaign to ensure proper conduct by road users during this period of heightened travel, with a mandate of zero tolerance of traffic violations.
The following are successes recorded on December 1- 6.
• 34 426 vehicles stopped and checked at various roadblocks and speed operations.
• 1 151 drivers charged for speeding
• 1 454 drivers tested for alcohol. A total of 42 of these drivers were arrested for drunk driving.
• 8 436 vehicles have been weighed against overloading, with 235 drivers charged for overloading.
“Our message is not only about road-safety, but the general safety of our people and their belongings, during this period. We are aware that during this period, criminals are also out and about, to earn a quick living, through unscrupulous means. Let us also avoid carrying huge amounts of cash on us. We must also not leave our homes unattended during this period,” the MEC concluded.
