PRELIMINARY RELEASE OF FESTIVE SEASON FATALITIES STATISTICS…

Today we release the preliminary statistics on fatalities for the 2019 festive season to gauge our progress in reversing the carnage on our roads. Our commitment to fighting the scourge of fatalities on our roads is resolute. The release of these statistics comes at the backdrop of the launch of the 365 Action Agenda by President Cyril Ramaphosa in October. This occasion is also meant to inject a new sense of urgency to our Arrive Alive campaign and emphasise the importance of partnerships with civil society and the private sector in arresting the carnage. The fight to save lives on our roads is a collective responsibility that requires all of us to play our part.

While we may be focusing on the festive season today, our traffic policing is moving beyond a seasonal approach and we will sustain the intensity throughout the year. When we launched our festive season campaign, we made a commitment to reduce road traffic crashes and fatalities by 10% this year.

The other objectives were to to ensure responsible road usage through education and communication; to ensure coordination and support of road policing operations through the National Road Traffic Joint Operations Centre; to create a safe road traffic environment for all road users; to create heightened visible Law Enforcement Operations and to stabilise hazardous locations throughout the country.

Last Friday marked the halfway point in the implementation of our festive season plan and we took time to evaluate progress and strengthen our interventions where a need arises. We will do a full analysis at the end of the campaign in January and offer you a detailed account.

Our evaluation shows that our law enforcement interventions are on target and continue to have the desired impact.

Since the beginning of the festive season campaign a total of 629 661 vehicles were stopped in 539 roadblocks staged nationwide. This resulted in 231 937 traffic fines being issued to motorists for various transgressions of the law. However the number of traffic fines issued is less than those issued over the same period during the previous festive season by 101 595. This is an indication of improving compliance with the rules of the road by many motorists. I must hasten to add that this is no cause to celebrate because every transgression is a potential fatality.

The number of arrests have also come down from 3 052 previously to 2 915, representing a slight improvement in driver behaviour.

However, we remain concerned about the high number of people who continue to drive under the influence of alcohol. A total of 1 397 drivers were arrested for drunk driving while 272 were arrested for driving at excessive speeds and 438 had outstanding warrants of arrests for failing to pay previous traffic fines.

I am pleased to report that as a result of efforts we have made to heighten law enforcement, the effective co-ordination of law enforcement operations by the Road Traffic Management Corporation and an improvement in responsible road usage, we have seen a significant decrease in fatal road traffic crashes so far this festive season. A total of 489 fatal crashes have been recorded, which is a 25% decrease compared to 656 fatal crashes recorded over the same period last year.

These crashes have resulted in 589 people dying on our roads so far compared to 839 last year. This represents a significant 30% reduction in fatalities. The majority of those who died were pedestrians at 39%, followed by passengers at 34%, drivers at 26% and cyclists at 1%.

All provinces recorded reduction in fatalities, with Gauteng reducing fatalities from 133 last year to 95, KwaZulu Natal went down from 172 to 135, Western Cape from 85 to 54, Eastern Cape from 102 to 81, Free State from 80 to 56, Mpumalanga from 83 to 40, North West from 60 to 36, Limpopo from 94 to 73 and Northern Cape from 29 to 16.

In the coming days, we will intensify our efforts on pedestrian and passenger fatalities by ramping up policing inside suburbs, townships and villages. Law enforcement operations focusing on drunken driving and the wearing of seatbelts will also be increased.

The reductions recorded so far do not mean we are out of the woods yet. These require of us to intensify our efforts and work together to make our roads safe.

Our fight against the carnage on our roads remains steadfast. We will work hard to utilize every possible avenue in law to oppose bail for those caught speeding in excess of 200 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. We will apply the same vigour in ensuring those arrested for drunken driving, reckless and negligent driving are also denied bail, as these are major contributing factors to the high levels of fatalities on our roads. Those driving unroadworthy vehicles, which are in effect mobile coffins, will not be spared from this treatment.

We will equally pay serious attention to pedestrians jaywalking on the roads as these people contribute significantly to fatalities. Communities must work with us to instil a culture of responsible pedestrian behaviour, as reckless behaviour leads to loss of life.

Corruption is a cancer that not only erodes our moral fibre, but also creates a culture of lawlessness and impunity. Those who solicit and pay bribes enable this corruption, which ultimately undermines our efforts to save lives on our roads. The days when motorists were able to bribe their way out of facing the consequences of the law are over. We will show no mercy to both law enforcement officials who solicit bribes or motorists who pay these.

I would like to commend our law enforcement officers and emergency personnel who sacrifice their family time to respond to the call of duty to save lives our roads. I would also like to express gratitude to the many South Africans of who continue to show respect for traffic laws and behave responsibly on our roads. I also thank religious organisations, community-based organisations, the public transport industry, the freight industry and the media for their contribution and implore them to continue supporting our efforts to save lives on the road.

I would like to remind everyone the success we have recorded so far should not lead us to complacency. Our job is not yet done. We must continue to implement our interventions with greater intensity. A busy period lies ahead as holiday makers continue to make their way to holiday destinations and festivities during Christmas and New Year long weekends.

Let us all behave responsibly and remember that we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers on the road. Remember we have to Live Beyond Dezember and Arrive Alive 365 days 24/7 Waya Waya.

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