KZN Transport MEC, Bheki Cele launches "Keep Left - Pass Right" Road Safety Campaign

Over the years the Department has successfully pioneered the Asiphephe (Let Us Be Safe) road safety campaign. As part of this campaign, during December last year MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr. Bheki Cele introduced our new slogan, From Zero Tolerance to 100% Compliance", as well as Omela eKhaya (Get Thirsty At Home).

The Asiphephe campaign has reinforced the Department’s enforcement programme as well as provided road safety education in schools and communities throughout the province. Community Road Safety Councils have been established throughout the province to ensure that the Department addresses road safety issues identified by the respective communities themselves.

In a social order such as South Africa, where most citizens have become desensitised to hostility and aggressive behaviour, it seems as if such behaviour is becoming increasingly more frequent, especially on our roads. MEC Cele says he believes inconsiderate driving habits can be changed, if every person behind the wheel of a vehicle will only make the effort. And the greater the driver's level of consciousness - of risk, vehicle limitations, other people's lives - the more "instinctive" will safe driving habits become.

Although there are no specific statutes in South Africa which regulate road rage, one of the key methods to successfully combat aggressive driving behaviour, and by implication road rage, is strict law enforcement of moving offences.

As part of efforts to reduce the number of road rage incidents, ease traffic flow and invariably reduce the number of road crashes, the Department has launched the "KEEP LEFT, PASS RIGHT" road safety campaign.

The primary purpose of this campaign is to encourage motorists to drive on the left side of the road at all times, and to use the right lane expressly when overtaking another vehicle. The "KEEP LEFT, PASS RIGHT" rule is not new and is one of the most basic and fundamental golden road rules.

In the South African context, relative speeds and conflicting traffic combined with a destructive driving culture increases the potential risk for conflict. The peak times for aggressive driving are not during tightly packed traffic jams, but just before, when traffic density is high but cars are still moving swiftly. Add to this the blaring of a horn, angry shouting and rude hand gestures and you have a recipe for disaster.

Several studies indicate that aggressive or reckless driving may increase the risk of traffic accidents. The most dominant ones are excessive speeding, tailgating, failure to yield the right of way for other road users and red-light running. All of this kind of road insanity results in drivers’ engaging in physical fights or using their vehicles to smash into other drivers, sometimes forcing them off the road. In these situations, the best advice is to keep left and stay composed.

If you are in the right lane and someone wants to pass, move over and let them by. You may be "in the right" because you are travelling at the prescribed speed limit - but you may also be putting yourself in danger by making drivers behind you angry. As motorists, we all have a responsibility to calm the emotional temperature on our roads. Any gesture that may be interpreted as a threat or challenge should be avoided. By keeping your emotions in check when entering the road environment seems to be the only way to avoid confrontation.

According to a recent road rage survey conducted by the Automobile Association (AA), 47.7% of respondents, both perpetrators and victims were accompanied by children during reported episodes of verbal or physical abuse. This behaviour merely reinforces aggressive behavioural patterns in our children.

Regulation 296 of the National Road Traffic Act, Act 96 of 1996 states, "Any person driving on a public road shall do so by driving on the left side of the roadway and, where such roadway is of sufficient width, in such manner as not to encroach on that half of the roadway to his or her right ….." Therefore any person who contravenes this law will be dealt with accordingly.

The accepted wisdom in road safety suggests that government participation in promoting road safety should go beyond traffic regulation and enforcement. It is thus becoming progressively clearer that traffic management and road safety in South Africa must implement new strategies that resonate with people-centred development.

The "KEEP LEFT, PASS RIGHT" campaign is part of this approach in order to meet the challenges that lie ahead. Finally, always remember to "KEEP LEFT" and "Don’t Hog the Fast Lane".

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