Video by Timothy Bernard
CAPE TOWN - With millions of motorists expected to be travelling over the Easter holidays, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the focus would be on the use of safety belts, the roadworthiness of vehicles, fatigue, drunk driving, pedestrian safety and dangerous driving.
Mbalula on Tuesday launched the Easter road safety campaign along the N12 highway in Ekurhuleni.
He said the busiest routes this time of year were the N2 from the Western Cape to Eastern Cape, the N1 from Gauteng to Limpopo, the N3 from Gauteng to KwaZulu Natal, the N14 to from Gauteng to the North-West and the N12 from Gauteng to Mpumalanga.
“Over the next few days, our national roads will, once again carry millions of motorists, one of the greatest movement of people over a single long weekend, as people will be travelling to different destination for the Easter holidays,” said Mbalula.
“We will therefore be deploying law enforcement officers, through a collaborative mechanism that has proven effective over the years, drawn from the South African Police Service, the National Traffic Police, provincial traffic officers and municipal traffic officers. The safety of the pedestrians, motorists, and other vulnerable road users is paramount.
“Our focus will be on the use of safety belts, the roadworthiness of vehicles, fatigue, drunk driving, pedestrian safety and dangerous driving which includes speeding, recklessness and overtaking on barrier lines,” he said.
According to his Department, in January and February this year, 1 823 people lost their lives on the country’s roads.
Mbalula said all provinces had experienced a spike in fatalities in the first two months of the year with Gauteng leading with 355 fatalities, followed by KwaZulu Natal with 269, Western Cape with 249, Limpopo with 239 and the Eastern Cape, 232.
Meanwhile, he cautioned that affected motorists have until May 5, 2022, to renew their expired driving licence cards.
Cape Times