SPEECH BY KWAZULU-NATAL MEC FOR TRANSPORT, MR S'BU NDEBELE, DURING THE
EASTER ROAD SAFETY LAUNCH AT PINE TOWN TESTING CENTRE, 17 April 2000
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending the launch of Easter Road
Safety launch. Schools will be closing and businesses are preparing to shut
down. Everyone is looking forward to attending church services, visiting or
relaxing during these Easter holidays. However, for us in the Department of
Transport and the road safety fraternity, it is a period where there is
literally no rest. While everything grinds to a halt, we step into top gear
for the usual onslaught of holiday traffic. It is our duty as the Department
of Transport in this Province to ensure that not a single life is lost as a
result of deliberate and careless behaviour on our roads.
Today, therefore I want to outline some of the major steps we have taken as
a Department to ensure that road users are safe during this Easter season.
Since 1995, the Department of Transport has developed a comprehensive road
safety strategy for KwaZulu-Natal. The strategy has evolved into Asiphephe
Project -a long-term, sustained programme aimed at modifying road user
behaviour through enforcement, education and aggressive media coverage.
During the Easter period KwaZulu-Natal is blessed with a huge influx of
tourists. Like the Festive Season before it, the period transforms our
Province into South Africa's tourism Mecca. It is for this reason, that the
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport is preparing a vigorous law
enforcement campaign to ensure the safety of our tourists and everybody in
the Province.
As we make these preparations we dwell under no illusions that all will be
fine and nice. The December road death toll is still fresh in our memories
and some bereaved families have not yet ceased to mourn their beloved ones.
As I have always said "One death is too many". Our strategic objectives as a
Department is to save lives through, inter alia, traffic law enforcement.
ENFORCEMENT
As from today until 5 May there will be 540 speed-timing exercises and 350
alcohol roadblocks. At all these exercises, all motorists will also be
checked for seatbelts, driver's licences and roadworthiness of vehicles.
During this period particular emphasis will also be placed on buses and
taxis in an effort to protect people returning home from different parts of
the country.
We will check overloading and road-worthiness of buses and trucks at our
weighbridges throughout the province. There are 64 traffic enforcement
agencies throughout the Province and the total amount of money that will be
spent on overtime only for traffic officers during this period is R955
340-00. Imperial car hire has also kindly sponsored 3 high performance
vehicles that will be utilised by Road Traffic Inspectorate in
Pietermaritzburg, Ladysmith and Midway during this period.
As part of our enforcement campaign during this Easter season there will be
24-hour enforcement coverage on national routes (N3 and N2) while Medical
Rescue International and Ambulance Emergency Medical Services will be on
standby to ensure fast reaction to crashes. Help centres will be erected at
high profile areas such as Estcourt, Van Reenen Pass, North and South Coast
main routes. This enforcement will be conducted with a co-ordinated approach
between various local authorities and enforcement agencies.
Multi-disciplinary booze bus operations will take place in the Durban Metro
area. Persons apprehended for speeding will be subjected to breathalyser and
driver's licence scrutiny.
OMELA NGASEKHAYA (Get Thirsty Near Home)
As part of ASIPHEPHE's focus on pedestrian safety, our Road Safety Education
Team has identified a set of taverns in township areas to implement Omela
Ngasekhaya Campaign and Designated Driver Programs. These programs target
drinking drivers and pedestrians with an aim of educating them about the
dangers of drinking and driving/walking. Statistics point out that 75% of
pedestrians left killed have a blood alcohol level exceeding legal limit.
These statistics further indicate that the majority of pedestrians killed
are from the developing sectors of our society. Hence the emphasis on
townships.
Our education and information campaigns will target all sectors of our
society irrespective of levels of advantage. There will be a 24-hour
operational centre established in Pietermaritzburg by the Road Traffic
Inspectorate (RTI). RTI has developed a web-site for the Easter holidays
that will be accessible from 19 April until 2 May. The site will publish the
following information
- Traffic reports
- Weather conditions
- Help centre information
- Toll free number
- Road safety programmes and tips
- Awareness of the Role of Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI)
- Other educative information for the motorist
The main purpose of this web-site will be to provide motorists with as
much assistance as possible in order to make their trips comfortable. This
is one way of ensuring effective communication between the Department and
road users.
COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION
In communicating the Department's road safety message, ASIPHEPHE PROJECT
will is be making use of radio campaigns locally and in adjoining provinces
as a way highlighting the dangers of speed. Beach programs will take place
in Durban and other coastal resorts with dispersal of bumper stickers and
other promotional material. We are also targeting audiences at major
sporting events which are taking place over this period: cricket, rugby and
soccer. This will involve booze bus operations and general roadblocks.
Our campaign will be different from our previous campaigns in that this time
some artists and singers have offered to assist us through singing some of
our messages. They have cancelled all their commitments for this Easter
season to ensure that they are part of the team to preach road safety
message. As we hold our breath in anticipation of what usually happens
during periods like these, it is these artists who will offer a ray of hope
that the Easter period can be a happy period for all of us. They will be the
life and spirit of every activity within our Province. These artists will
accompany us in some areas within the Province including rural areas as part
of our road shows intended to convey road safety messages.
The Department knows that that both legislation and enforcement may alter
the road user behaviour but they may never change the heart. Alcohol testing
may alter the habit but it does not eliminate the love of drinking. Speed
camera operations may temporarily prevent over-speeding but they do not put
an end to aggression and the deadly impatience of fast drivers. It is only
artists who venture into the depths of the human conscience through song,
poetry and play. They encourage, motivate and inspire people. We could not
ignore them because if we are serious about conveying an effective and
successful road safety message, artists must be involved.
In the final analysis, it is important to issue a strong warning to
lawbreakers, and especially drunken drivers. Traffic officers throughout the
Province will be on active duty during these Easter holidays. Alcohol and
speed testing will be the order of the day with police officers monitoring
our entire road networks as part of our Zero tolerance campaign.
As had happened previously, the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport will
be tough in ensuring that these measures are strictly adhered to. Together
with the justice Department we will have no mercy to traffic offenders. Last
Easter holidays 34 lives were lost and this year we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. We
say "Let there be peace in our roads and a better life for all".
GOD BLESS AFRICA.
I THANK YOU.
Issued by the Office of the MEC for Transport, KwaZulu-Natal, 17 April 2000
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