MORE THAN 4,500 PEOPLE KILLED ON SA ROADS IN 2014/2015

Latest figures show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities involved adults and males between of 19 and 34.

FILE: Latest figures show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities involved adults and males between of 19 and 34. Picture: ER24.

JOHANNESBURG – Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says harsher laws must be put in place if government wants to deal adequately with drunk driving and speeding on the country’s roads.
Latest figures released by the department on Friday show that 80 percent of the crash fatalities in the past year involved adults and males between the ages of 19 and 34.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) report said more than 4,500 people died on South African roads.
The minister says light passenger vehicles contributed the highest number of fatal crashes in the 2014/15 financial year, with the figure at 47 percent of all road deaths.
Minibus taxis were responsible for seven percent of road deaths.
Peters says traffic officials will increase their visibility at crash hot-spots, including the N1 between Pretoria, Polokwane and the Beitbridge border post, as well as the N2 between Somerset West and Cape Town.
“There should be periodic integrated operations focused on checking the road worthiness with fines of more than R50,000 imposed on impounded heavy vehicles and R15,000 for light vehicles. It is important that we give stiffer penalties.”

The department says drunk driving remains one of the main contributing factors to crashes.

Peters says serious action needs to be taken.

“New inexperienced drivers between the ages of 25 and 34 years of age were most likely to die on the roads. Women were most likely to die on the roads as passengers, especially in public transport vehicles, while children will be affected as passengers and pedestrians.”

The latest national road traffic data shows most fatal crashes in South Africa involve young men in light vehicles, and occur over the weekends.

Most crashes between 2014 and 2015 were recorded in Gauteng, the Western Cape and in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

Meanwhile, RTMC says law makers are considering lowering the blood-alcohol limit to 0,02 grams per 100 millilitres.

It also says it’s looking at imposing a minimum two-year jail sentence for drunk driving.
The current limit is 0,05 grams per 100 millilitres, but if government has its way, it could decrease all the way to zero.

The corporation’s head Makhosini Msibi says a committee is reviewing legislation, with the aim of imposing harsher penalties

“[In] particular, schedule three offences that relate to the traffic offences, to be reclassified to schedule five. Key to it is also the minimum penalty that we are considering that people have commit, [like] driving under the influence of liquor, to a minimum sentence of two years.”

Four years after a Western Cape court ruled that the Dräger Breathalyser test be suspended, authorities are now promising to reintroduce the equipment with better laws in place by November.

In 2011 an alleged drunk driver was acquitted in a landmark test case.
This resulted in court cases across the country being withdrawn, where evidence was obtained using the Dräger test.

The transport minister says final arrangements are now under way to make sure it can be used to conduct on-the-spot tests, on motorists suspected to be driving under the influence.
(Edited by Leeto M Khoza)

‘AUTHORITIES MUST DECISIVELY DEAL WITH DRUNK DRIVING’

Peters says government is in the process of finalising the re-introduction of the draeger breathalyser test.

FILE: Transport Minister Dipuo Peters. Picture: EWN

JOHANNESBURG - Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says authorities must deal decisively with drunk driving as a committee meets to discuss the option of imposing a minimum two year jail sentence for motorists caught driving under the influence.

Lawmakers are currently considering lowering the blood-alcohol limitto 0,02 gramms per 100 milliliters instead of the current 0,05 gramms per 100 milliliters.

Peters says government is in the process of finalising the re-introduction of the draeger breathalyser test.

“The Cabinet of the Republic of South Africa led by President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday discussed the challenges that are related to drunk and driving and those who drive under some substances or drugs that alter their ability to concentrate on the roads.”

Meanwhile, The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has released its annual report for the year 2014 to 2015, showing thatmore than 4,500 people died on South African roads.

(Edited by Winnie Theletsane)

City traffic chief’s unlicensed ride

9 Sep 2015 Cape Argus

Siyabonga Kalipa STAFF REPORTER kalipa.siyabonga@inl.co.za

City traffic chief’s unlicensed ride

Cape Argus enquiry galvanises officials to launch probe

A SENIOR traffic chief in the City of Cape Town is facing disciplinary action for allegedly driving an unlicensed car – a car he parked at the traffic department in full view of his colleagues. Paul Oliver, the traffic chief for the city’s west region, has been seen driving a blue Mercedes-Benz C-Class to and from work, despite the vehicle’s licence having expired on February 28.

PICTURE: HENK KRUGEREXPIRED: The Mercedes-Benz parked inside the pits at Gallows Hill testing centre. Inset: Paul Oliver and the licence disc.

Acting on a tip-off, a team from the Cape Argus staked out the Gallows Hill traffic department last week, and spotted the unlicensed vehicle, with the expired disc still attached to the windscreen, parked in the staff parking bay at the back of the building.

The city’s executive director of Safety and Security, Richard Bosman, confirmed that the city was probing the matter and that the manager was found to be driving a car without a valid licence. The city initiated action against Oliver after the Cape Argus made enquiries about the allegations.

The ownership of the vehicle has also come into question after a source in the traffic department claimed that it was not registered in the name of Oliver or his wife.

“It appears the car is not his but belongs to someone else. The reason a licence could not be taken out on the vehicle is apparently because there was an admin mark on it – which means there are outstanding warrants under the rightful owner’s name,” another official said.

Traffic officers at Gallows Hill confirmed that Oliver had been driving the vehicle well after the licence’s expiry date.

Bosman said the vehicle’s licence had expired.

“As per normal a fine was issued to the person in question on September 4, 2015 to the value of R500. The city takes the allegations very seriously and further investigation is under way. The outcome will determine further action, including disciplinary procedure if necessary,” he said.

Mayco member for Safety and Security JP Smith said the traffic department issued a fine as soon as the matter was reported and was also initiating disciplinary proceedings.

“We have an excellent track record with discipline and this case is no exception. We acted as soon as we were made aware of the situation. Oliver should set an example as someone responsible for upholding the law.”

Oliver oversees traffic operations in the city’s area west, which includes Sea Point, Camps Bay, Clifton, Hout Bay and Fish Hoek.

The Cape Argus can also reveal that Oliver had previously been accused of using city vehicles to get to and from work when in fact he was being paid a fixed car allowance in terms of which he had to provide his own transport to get to work and back home.

Bosman confirmed that in that case Oliver “pleaded guilty and paid back the money”.

He added that Oliver had informed him that he had returned the car to its owner and would be reimbursed for the private sale.

According to traffic officers, they were asked to pick Oliver up at home and drop him at work using city vehicles.

Oliver referred requests for comment to the City of Cape Town.

‘Cockroach’ taxi shock as 44 are squashed

8 Sep 2015: Cape Times: Francesca Villette francesca.villette@inl.co.za

AN ASSOCIATION that represents more than 400 amaphela (cockroaches) taxi drivers says the City did not tell them it was going to destroy 44 impounded sedan taxis.

Picture: BRENTON GEACHCRUSHED: Unroadworthy and abandoned amaphela (cockroaches) sedan taxis were crushed at the vehicle pound in Ndabeni, near Pinelands, yesterday. Attempts were made to contact the owners, says the City.

Sedan taxis are referred to as amaphela because there are so many of them in the city.

Yesterday, the abandoned impounded taxis were reduced to blocks of scrap metal by an 18-ton crusher at the City’s vehicle pound in Ndabeni, near Pinelands.

The City’s Traffic Service destroyed the taxis, many of which were impounded between 2010 and 2012 and left unclaimed by their owners.

Mongi Titi, chairperson of the Kiki Murray Committee, which represents the drivers, said the association had not been informed about the destruction.

“The vehicles that were crushed belong to people who have been in the industry for a long time. Amaphela drivers were not included in the taxi recapitalisation programme. We have made strides in doing away with amaphelas and replacing them with new vehicles, but this comes as a major shock to us,” Titi said.

The City’s mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith, said attempts were made to contact the owners. Operators were initially given R50 000 to scrap their old taxis. “By law, this exercise could have been done a long time ago, but space at the pound has not been an issue.”

RTMC REPORT REVEALS SHOCKING SA ROAD DEATH STATS

The RTMC has released its annual report for the year 2014 to 2015 showing over 4,500 died on SA roads.

Transport Minister Dipuo Peters at the release of the RTMC annual report, on road accidents, for the year 2014 and 2015 in Kempton Park on 11 September 2015. Picture: Mia Lindeque/EWN

JOHANNESBURG – Transport Minister Dipuo Peters says new road fatality statistics have shown 80 percent of the deaths on the country’s roads comprise of adults and males between the ages of 19 and 34.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has released its annual report for the year 2014 to 2015, showing that more than 4,500 people died on South African roads.

The department says drunk driving remains one of the main contributing factors to crashes.

Peters says serious action needs to be taken.

“New inexperienced drivers between the ages of 25 and 34 years of age were most likely to die on the roads. Women were most likely to die on the roads as passengers, especially in public transport vehicles, while children will be affected as passengers and pedestrians.”

The latest national road traffic data shows most fatal crashes in South Africa involve young men in light vehicles, and occur over the weekends.

The report has been released in Kempton Park today.

Most crashes between 2014 and 2015 were recorded in Gauteng, the Western Cape and in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The minister says speed and alcohol abuse are the top two contributing factors that led to the 4,500 crashes between April and August this year.

She says 5,500 people lost their lives in those accidents.

“It's important that we give stiffer penalties, in particular, so that people can actually see and behave on the roads.”

She says analysis shows that 76 percent of the fatal crashes involved black people, while whites accounted for eight percent.

She adds drastic steps need to be taken to stop the carnage on the roads.

This report will be tabled in Parliament shortly.

(Edited by Masechaba Sefularo)

WCape carnage: 7 months, 348 pedestrians killed

2015-08-17

 

CAPE'S KILLER ROADS: More than 740 people have been killed on Western Cape roads since January 2015, more than 300 were pedestrians.Image: Shutterstock

  Video

Safely Home: Child pedestrian fatality map

2014-10-23 11:39

Western Cape MEC for transport and public works, Donald Grant, speaks on the province's, child pedestrian fatalities map.

Related Links

• W Cape shocker: 582 pedestrians killed
• Shocker as WCape highlights killer roads
• Safely Home: Child pedestrian fatality map
• WCape shocker: Child pedestrian horror clip

CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape’s provincial safety project, Safely Home, has launched a new campaign in August to highlight the dangers of speeding.

The reason for the campaign? The province reports more than 740 road deaths to date (January to July 2015).

The campaign is titled 'It won’t kill you to slow down'.

ROAD CARNAGE

Western Cape transport and public works MEC, Donald Grant, reports that from January to July 31 2014, 748 fatalities were recorded, compared to 742 road deaths during the same period in 2015.

2015 Western Cape road deaths (January - July):

Cyclist - 18
Driver  - 178
Fell off vehicle - 2
Motorcycle-pillion - 1
Motorcyclist - 33
Other - 11
Passenger - 151
Pedestrian - 348
Total - 742
'GRIM PICTURE'

The department said: "Pedestrians remain the leading class of fatality on Western Cape roads, accounting for over 40% of the deaths. Upon closer analysis, we also found that adult men are disproportionately represented in the number of road deaths, accounting for over 60% of road deaths in the Western Cape.

"Road deaths for the first seven months of 2015 have painted a grim picture of the situation on our roads, with very little change between this year’s figure compared to that of 2014."

READ: WCape 'shock tactics' - MEC Grant responds

The department says its data proves:

  • The faster you drive, the worse the crash will be due to the greater force involved.
  • The faster you drive, the higher the likelihood of you being in a crash due to having less   time to react to unexpected hazards.
  • Even small decreases in average speed travelled equals many lives saved.

SERIOUS CONCERN

Having experienced six consecutive years of decreases since 2009 (close to 30% decrease), these static and high figures are cause for major concern, reports Grant.

There is no question that speeding, along with drinking and driving, accounts for the vast majority of the road deaths, says the department.

The department said: "Safely Home is confident that the collective efforts will go a long way to encouraging motorists to slow down, by greatly reducing their likelihood of being involved in a horrific crash that results in a senseless loss of life."

Ex RTMC boss: 7 answers to drunk driving

2015-02-06

SEVEN WAYS TO BEAT DRUNK DRIVING:Wheels24 reader and former chair of the Road Traffic Management Corporation board JOHN SAMPSON (inset) lists steps to kill drunk driving. Image: RTT/ Shutterstock

Related Links

• Ex-DPP says 0% booze limit 'pointless'
• Zero alcohol limit: How you'll be hit
• Driving drunk? So here's what happens...

JOHN SAMPSON

Let me establish my credentials. My name is John Sampson (Pr Eng). I am a road safety expert, have 40 years’ experience in the field, and, amongst other senior positions in road traffic, was previously chairperson of the Board of the Road Traffic Management Corporation and president of the South African Road Federation.

The opinions I am about to express are however my own and I do not speak on behalf on any organisation.
DRUNK DRIVING IN SA

It's essential to recognise that drunk driving is the biggest single contributor to road fatalities in South Africa. I have seen unreleased morgue reports that 60-70% of drivers and pedestrians killed in road crashes have a blood alcohol (BA) content in excess of 0.08g/100ml.

Take into account that around 40% of all fatalities in SA are pedestrians, it becomes clear it's not only drivers that are of concern.

We have a serious problem but what should we do about it? Well, before taking knee-jerk and futile actions like setting the allowable blood alcohol level at zero, we need to know the facts:
FOUR BLOOD-ALCOHOL FACTS

• Fact 1 - One or two drinks won't affect your driving
Having one or two drinks at a time is not only good for you, it has little effect on your driving ability (no effect if you recognize you are slightly impaired and drive accordingly). A graph on Wikipedia illustrates the point as well as the stages of inebriation.

• Fact 2 - No evidence
There is no evidence, not even from blood tests on dead drivers and pedestrians in the morgue, that drivers with BA below 0.05g/100 ml are any more responsible for causing crashes than someone with zero alcohol.

• Fact 3 - Abuse and bribery is rife
That traffic officers are human beings too. They are intelligent and know a dangerous driver when they see one. If they are asked to enforce a zero alcohol limit, knowing they are not improving road safety, that they are not only wasting their time and efforts but are also likely to encounter significant abuse.
They will be far less willing to enforce an unfair law (and probably far more willing to let minor offenders off for a small amount of cash – not right of course but a reality). 
• Fact 4 - Zero limit pointless
Having a law with zero BA will not solve the problem. So what should be done?
SEVEN STEPS TO ACTION
Below is a list of seven steps that could curb drunk driving as well as drunk pedestrians and properly enforce the law:
1 Make driving with a BA of 0.05 to 0.08g/100 ml subject to a fine of about R200.
2 Make driving with a BA of 0.08 to 0.12g/100 ml subject to a fine of R1000 with a written warning that is kept on your driving record (eNatis) for three years (these record also being available to your insurer).
3 Make it illegal for a pedestrian on a roadway, other than on a pavement or legal pedestrian crossing, to have a blood alcohol content in excess of 0.08g/100 ml. Minimum fine of R200.
4 Arrest a driver, or pedestrian on a roadway, with a BA in excess of 0.12 g/100 ml. He/she must appear in court.
5 Make breath-alcohol testing legal but also apply a BA test for those cases with an equivalent BA above 0.12g/100ml.     
6 Visibly and dramatically increase the enforcement of drunken driving.
7 Make a breathalyser test mandatory for any driver or pedestrian involved in a collision resulting in injuries or deaths.

Ex-DPP says 0% booze limit 'pointless'

2015-02-05

ZERO LIMIT THE ANSWER? Do you think a zero blood alcohol limit will reduce road deaths? Many readers don't think so... Image: Shutterstock

Related Links

• Zero alcohol limit: How you'll be hit
• Driving drunk? So here's what happens...
• Drunk driving: The special effects

A former very senior member of the state's legal machinery has responded emphatically to the proposed 'zero alcohol' proposition: "It won't work!"
Wheels24 reported on Wednesday (Feb 4 2015) that the government is proposing a zero blood-alcohol limit and the public has until February 27 to respond.

A proposal to cut to ZERO the current maximum alcohol level of 0.05g/100 ml of blood was published earlier in January 2015 in the Government Gazette. The amended bill reads:
"No person shall on a public road (a) drive a vehicle or (b) occupy the driver's seat of a motor vehicle the engine of which is running, while THERE IS concentration of alcohol in any specimen of blood taken from any part of his or her body." Which means ANY alcohol at all.

FORMER PUBLIC PROSECUTOR SPEAKS

Wheels24 reader and former deputy director of public prosecutions, the now retired (in 2010) Ross Stuart, was quick to respond to the story:

Blood-alcohol testing simply takes too long and reducing the levels is pointless if there is, in effect, no enforcement. What is required, as a matter of urgency, is legislation to overcome the hurdles put in the way of breath-testing by the Western Cape High Court.

With instant results provided by breath-testing, enforcement can be done properly and effectively. The infrastructure is in place.
HURDLES WITH TECH
The hurdles relate to the the breath testing machine and the use thereof. The particular device concerned was a Drager Breath Testing machine.
I was responsible for the importing of such a machine from Australia in the late 90s for trial purposes with a view to it being used by KZN's Road Traffic Inspectorate. With no training whatsoever I and my kids were able to operate the device. It was that simple!
The court held, however, that the particular operator who had conducted the breathalyser test , was insufficiently trained and failed to follow  the standard operating procedures prescribed in the operator's manual, the legislative framework and the prosecution guidelines.
The extent of the failure impaired the legal validity of the test result. There was no proof placed before the court that the operator had ever been trained to operate the Drager Alcotest with its current software. (Thanks to article by Bowman and Gilfillan Jan 3 2012)
With all due respect this is nonsense…
The device takes you through the procedure and I do not believe that  it will work if you make any slip-ups on the way to the result.
I do not believe that the concerns of the judge in the case were real from a practical point of view and the cost to the country of not being able to make use of the device , is enormous. I am not a legal draughtsman but I do not believe that it should be difficult to draw up legislation to remove the problems of the judge.
ZERO TOLERANCE
A zero tolerance policy which we had in KZN at one stage bore fruits but the policy was eroded over the years. Zero alcohol when driving would certainly have an effect if enforced. It should be remembered that not every case is required to be prosecuted.
If someone was stopped and showed a very low concentration of alcohol and could show that it was a result of some medication, no prosecutor who is worth his/her salt, would prosecute.
There is always a discretion that can be excercised to eliminate the appropriate cases. When it comes to the matter of what could be done to reduce road deaths in this country, I could write a book about it.
I was a member of Project Victoria which was the brainchild of then transport MEC Sbu Ndebele and considerable progress was made for a while until the principles established were just completely ignored and essentially abandoned.
Stuart was the deputy director of public prosecutions until he retired in 2010 and was previously responsible for traffic prosecutions in kwaZulu-Natal.

Here's what other readers had to say:

Paddy Ross: "This proposal is absolutely ridiculous! What happens to the many people who receive communion wine during Sunday church services? Will they become 'killers' on the road? Instead, concentrate police monitoring of those who drive when well in excess of the current legal limits - they are the potential killers."
Lilian: "I don't drink at all but feel this law is just pathetic. I do get the 'flu from time to time and would probably use cough mixture. So now I will be criminalised for being sick? It's not new laws we need but the enforcement of existing ones.
"Comparing these laws to those of other countries is like comparing grapes with apples. Those countries are First World and have public transport to match. There is no such thing, especially at night, in this country."
'NO LOGIC'
Dawie Coetzee: "There is no logic in trying to reduce drunk driving by outlawing pretty-much-sober driving. It's even worse - making pretty-much-sober driving legally identical to roaring-drunk driving means making roaring-drunk driving legally identical to pretty-much-sober driving.
"As the saying goes, 'might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb'. So, if you've had one, why not another eight?
"I believe blood alcohol should be measured in certain situations, so that the evidence is subsequently available but the fixed limit should be abolished. Blood-alcohol evidence can then be considered in court together with any other relevant facts (i.e. was the person a 'responsible drunk' who knew that they were in no fit state to drive and drove in a manner according?).
'ONLY FOOLS DRIVE DRUNK'
Alicia Louise: "Only fools drive drunk. The blind-drunk driver, because of his/her 'relaxed and intoxicated' state, is usually not on the casualty list. The passengers and innocent people in other cars are killed. Many drunk-driving crashes occur on the wrong side of the road.
"I have lost many sober friends in this way. I have never (been driving since I was 12, funny but true) driven with alcohol in my system.
"When we dine out, I do not drink wine or any other alcohol and I drive home. The Gordon's Bay road has become a death trap, as is Sir Lowry's Road. On Monday mornings the signs of crashes, as people drive drunk from too many pubs and eateries, is painfully obvious."
Nicol Moodie: "This proposal borders on the stupendously stupid if not downright idiotic.
"So if you have had a few – how long will you have to wait before you drive? Remember the two-hour rule for taking of the sample is just to be able to say that when you were driving your blood alcohol level was at that level.  The alcohol stays in your blood much longer. How long is determined by a lot of factors (of which bodyweight is one). 
"If you had a lot to drink the night before and went home by taxi – you may still have some alcohol in your system when you drive to work the next morning – how do they propose to deal with this? Existing legislation is good enough – enforcement and the administrative processes need to be addressed. Get more labs going etc."
Wheels24 says: "Countries around the world that have drink/driving laws have set a low alcohol level - such as the 0.05 and 0.02g/100ml in South Africa - precisely because of that which Justice Project SA's Howard Dembovsky outlined. A few teaspoons of cough mixture will be enough to signal an illegal-alcohol reading in a road block.
"We're going to send people to jail for the weekend because they have a cold? Please guys, a little common sense here."

The Big Story: Road carnage in SA

August 13 2014 at 09:38am
By Chelsea Geach

Independent NewspapersSeminal smash: A photograph taken from Early Motoring in South Africa shows the first recorded car crash in the country. It occurred at the Maitland level crossing on October 1, 1903, when a new Darracq, driven by Charles Garlick and carrying two passengers, was caught on the rails by the Johannesburg Express, at full steam ahead. All the occupants survived.

Cape Town - We are world champions at killing children. This was the tragic conclusion of Professor Sebastian van As, speaking at the Africa Road Safety seminar on Tuesday.

“All traffic crashes are preventable,” he said.

Van As is head of trauma at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, head of Childsafe SA, and regional chairman of the Global Road Safety partnership.

At the conference, hosted annually by the partnership, experts from home and abroad presented chilling statistics.

Africa possesses only 2 percent of all the world’s vehicles, yet 20 percent of all road deaths happen here.

“WE KNOW HOW TO KILL KIDS”

Present: The site of the scene of the crash today. Picture: David Ritchie.Independent Newspapers

African roads are the most dangerous in the world – and children bear the brunt of the carnage as they make up 21 percent of all road deaths.

The first recorded car crash in South Africa took place at the Maitland level crossing on October 1, 1903.

Charles Garlick was driving his father’s new Darracq with two passengers. They entered the level crossing through an open gate, only to find the gate on the far side closed. Before Garlick could move the car, the Johannesburg Express smashed into them. All three were injured, but survived.

In the 110 years since that crash until the end of last year, more than half a million people – 543 000 – have been killed on South Africa’s roads.

SEVERE BLOWS TO THE HEAD

Van As explained that if an adult pedestrian was hit by a car, he or she was likely to have pelvic injuries. But a child’s head was closer to the height of a bonnet, and children were much more likely to be dealt blows to the critical head and chest area.

Prof Sebastian Van As. Photo: Henk Kruger/Cape Argus.Independent Newspapers

He said a child in South Africa was 25 times more likely to be admitted to hospital than a child in the US. Of the children treated at Red Cross for injuries from car accidents, most were walking to school when they were hit.

A full 71 percent of Van As’s young crash victims were pedestrians, and 11 percent were passengers not wearing a seat belt.

In the parking lot of the hospital, Van As conducted research into driving habits. How many parents visiting young patients would belt up as they left the hospital?

Half of all drivers did not wear a seat belt. Passengers were even worse: 71 percent of front seat passengers and 90 percent of back seat passengers were unrestrained.

Another conference delegate, Dr Kunuz Abdella, of the World Health Organisation, said car crashes were the leading cause of death in children up to age 19 globally. In Africa, road deaths came a close second to deaths caused by fire.

UPSTREAM CAUSES

Dr Ashley van Niekerk of the Medical Research Council looked into the causes of South Africa’s staggering road carnage.

In what he termed “upstream causes”, infrastructure was the biggest problem: limited pedestrian walkways, and few safe playgrounds for children away from roads.

Excessive travel times and distances also played a part, thanks to historical spatial divides that left many people living far away from the city or suburbs where they worked.

Inadequate law enforcement also meant that drivers breaking road rules could get away with it unpunished.

Looking closer at direct causes, he listed alcohol, speeding and motorists not wearing seat belts as the biggest problems.

Driver fatigue and aggressive road behaviour also contributed towards deaths.

As the Africa Road Safety Seminar conference continues into its second day, delegates are set to study examples of road safety interventions from around Africa, and also look into the viability of a partnership with civil society and the private sector to cut down the car crash carnage.

CALL FOR LAWS THAT “BITE”

We need laws that bite to bring traffic offenders to book, said Transport Minister Dipuo Peters in her keynote address at the Africa Road Safety seminar.

If punishments were harsher, it would put people off driving irresponsibly, and help prevent road deaths.

“In our society, people don’t take traffic offences seriously. If we can have laws that bite, and make sure we have convictions, it would change a lot.”

There should be much harsher penalties for drivers who were drunk. “They are a danger to themselves, to society and to economic development. My target is to go for zero tolerance.”

Peters said she would consider trying to amend legislation to come down harder on drunk drivers charged with killing someone in an accident they caused.

Looking at road traffic deaths in South Africa, she said that in most incidents men were the drivers – but children came out as the most vulnerable group, as either pedestrians or as small bodies easily thrown from a vehicle.

Peters announced her department’s new Scholar Transport Policy, which is soon set to run the gauntlet of scrutiny in the Cabinet and then Parliament.

With 65 percent of pupils walking to school, the policy is aimed at getting children to school safely.

If children live further than 5km from school, they will receive safe, state-subsidised transport. If children live within 5km of school, they will be given a bicycle and helmet.

The department has supervised the distribution of 95 000 bicycles since 2006, and plans to issue an additional 21 000 in the next three years.

Peters explained the national transport department’s key strategy to lower road deaths.

It relies on the upgrading of the rail transport system, which has been ailing for some time. It also relies on fledgling public transport projects, and the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme

to scrap minibus taxis in dangerous conditions.

“The National Household Transport Survey 2013 indicates that the percentage of car ownership has risen from 22.9 percent in 2003 to 32.6 percent in 2013. This increase has a direct impact on traffic congestion and presents a higher risk for road crashes. The ultimate aim of our integrated public transport system is to lessen vehicle density on our roads and thus reduce the probability of road crashes.”

Cape Argus