Moyahabo Mabeba
LIMPOPO – Non-compliance with road traffic laws, non-payment of traffic fines without consequences and other traffic offences, are among the challenges the traffic authorities in Limpopo face.
Against this backdrop, the traffic law enforcement system is inadequate and does not prioritise traffic offences. Traffic crimes are not given precedence in courts of law, and as such, are no deterrence for traffic violation.
These challenges were outlined during the first leg of the Road Traffic Infringement Agency’s (RTIA) roadshow that was held at the Jack Botes Hall in Polokwane on Monday.
RTIA, in partnership with the Department of Transport, Safety and Liaison, hosted various road-user interest groups and traffic officials to discuss the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act and its processes.
The Chief Operations Officer of the RTIA, Thabo Tsholetsane, expressed the importance of this roadshow saying: “The authorities within Limpopo are about 90% ready for the implementation of the Act and this engagement will focus on getting the authorities closer to 100% ready. We will also get a chance to engage various associations that will be the most affected by this Act and its processes”.
The first day of the two-day roadshow catered for road user associations, including buses, taxis and biking associations, and dealt with the Act , its processes and how the implementation will affect them.
The Act is expected to bring several improvements, including parity of fines, which means similar traffic infractions will hold the same penalty countrywide and the points demerit system will be part of this.
In her keynote address, the Transport, Safety and Liaison MEC, Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana, also concurred that one of the major causes of deaths in the country was road accidents.
“Road accidents contribute by far the most to health, welfare and insurance expenses in South Africa. They impact negatively on social and economic stability and the loss of breadwinners and skilled human recourses, as well as rob us of the recourses for infrastructural and human development,” she said.
In a desperate bid to reduce the alarming figures of deaths on the roads, Mokaba-Phukwana said the department was left with no choice but to insist on stricter law enforcement and compliance to the rules of the road. “The Act was introduced to encourage voluntary compliance with all road traffic laws in South Africa. The Act is an important game changer. It is our country’s first step towards safer roads and the achievement of the goals set out in the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.”
The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 is a global programme aimed at road safety.
Mokaba-Phukwana was also the first to sign a One Million Signature Campaign petition as a pledge to support the initiative to have Parliament declare a national prayer day for road safety.
