Date: 10/10/2003
Source: Ministry of Transport
Title: Omar: Memorial service for victims of Pretoria's Potgieter Street accident
SPEECH FOR THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, DULLAH OMAR, AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE, 10 October 2003
Ladies and gentlemen, the Honourable Mayor of Tshwane, Father Mkhatshwa, distinguished guests and most of all, the grieving relatives and loved ones of the people who lost their lives on our roads during the last week.
My heart goes out to you. How hard it is when your father, mother, sister, brother, child or friend is ripped from your life so suddenly and so violently. The emptiness and the many unanswered questions continue to torture us. The Great Healer and Comforter will provide his healing and comfort, the pain will dull with time, but you will never stop missing your loved one.
It is impossible at this stage to say which factors contributed to the accidents that happened last week. In most instances at least three factors contribute to any specific accident. Many accidents are preceded by traffic violations. My department will investigate these accidents, and we will determine what caused them. We will act upon the recommendations contained in the investigation reports and try to avert such tragedies from recurring.
There are changes taking place to address the shortcomings and the fragmentation in the traffic management system. I am working tirelessly with the staff in my department to implement the Road to Safety Strategy for 2001 - 2005. We are improving on the systems for vehicle and driver testing and are constantly fighting fraud and corruption in these and other areas. The effectiveness of traffic law enforcement will soon be enhanced by better training of traffic law officers. New technologically advanced equipment for traffic law enforcement is being tested and will soon be used in the fight for a safer road environment.
When the Administrative Adjudication for Road Traffic Offenders is implemented, we will have a system whereby repeat traffic offenders will lose their licenses. This system will force drivers to avoid committing traffic offences and will also force them to keep their vehicles in a roadworthy condition.
Ladies and gentlemen, I work tirelessly with my department to address the issues that fall within our ambit. But we need the cooperation of every provincial and local traffic authority to enforce the law and to ensure that traffic offenders are brought to book. We need our courts to take traffic offences seriously and impose harsh sentences on those road users that endanger the lives of others.
But most of all, we all need to accept co-responsibility for what is happening on our roads. We need to cooperate to make the road environment safe for ourselves and also for other road users. We need every vehicle owner to keep his or her vehicle in a roadworthy condition. We need to treat others on the road with respect and in the same way we would like to be treated. Next year you will be able to play an even greater role, by reporting drivers who endanger the lives of others to a call centre. I urge you make use of this call centre when it becomes operational. The call centre will be piloted in Limpopo province this month and the facility will be available countrywide early in 2004.
In addition, our Taxi Recapitalisation programme will bring safe vehicles. The programme is design to bring in vehicles that are purpose built, with necessary safety specifications.
The current vehicles have no roll over bars and always disintegrate in an event of the accident. We are moving forward with taxi recapitalisation. We cannot allow a situation where 60% of commuters go to work, hospitals and schools in unsafe vehicles; the time is now to address this issue.
Owners of vehicles need to ensure that their vehicles are safe, go to regular roadworthiness test. Drivers need to do pre-trip inspections and we call upon law enforcement officers to enforce the law.
I urge you to make road safety an issue within your communities. Identify places where accidents happen and the causes of the accidents and bring them to the attention of your local authorities. Give your children the tools to be safe on the road by teaching them how to behave as pedestrians and cyclists. Buckle up on front and back seats of cars. We can reduce our risks on the road by obeying traffic rules and regulations. Let us all undertake to be law abiding road users - life is too valuable not to.
Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Transport
10 October 2003
Source: Ministry of Transport
Title: Omar: Memorial service for victims of Pretoria's Potgieter Street accident
SPEECH FOR THE MINISTER OF TRANSPORT, DULLAH OMAR, AT THE MEMORIAL SERVICE, 10 October 2003
Ladies and gentlemen, the Honourable Mayor of Tshwane, Father Mkhatshwa, distinguished guests and most of all, the grieving relatives and loved ones of the people who lost their lives on our roads during the last week.
My heart goes out to you. How hard it is when your father, mother, sister, brother, child or friend is ripped from your life so suddenly and so violently. The emptiness and the many unanswered questions continue to torture us. The Great Healer and Comforter will provide his healing and comfort, the pain will dull with time, but you will never stop missing your loved one.
It is impossible at this stage to say which factors contributed to the accidents that happened last week. In most instances at least three factors contribute to any specific accident. Many accidents are preceded by traffic violations. My department will investigate these accidents, and we will determine what caused them. We will act upon the recommendations contained in the investigation reports and try to avert such tragedies from recurring.
There are changes taking place to address the shortcomings and the fragmentation in the traffic management system. I am working tirelessly with the staff in my department to implement the Road to Safety Strategy for 2001 - 2005. We are improving on the systems for vehicle and driver testing and are constantly fighting fraud and corruption in these and other areas. The effectiveness of traffic law enforcement will soon be enhanced by better training of traffic law officers. New technologically advanced equipment for traffic law enforcement is being tested and will soon be used in the fight for a safer road environment.
When the Administrative Adjudication for Road Traffic Offenders is implemented, we will have a system whereby repeat traffic offenders will lose their licenses. This system will force drivers to avoid committing traffic offences and will also force them to keep their vehicles in a roadworthy condition.
Ladies and gentlemen, I work tirelessly with my department to address the issues that fall within our ambit. But we need the cooperation of every provincial and local traffic authority to enforce the law and to ensure that traffic offenders are brought to book. We need our courts to take traffic offences seriously and impose harsh sentences on those road users that endanger the lives of others.
But most of all, we all need to accept co-responsibility for what is happening on our roads. We need to cooperate to make the road environment safe for ourselves and also for other road users. We need every vehicle owner to keep his or her vehicle in a roadworthy condition. We need to treat others on the road with respect and in the same way we would like to be treated. Next year you will be able to play an even greater role, by reporting drivers who endanger the lives of others to a call centre. I urge you make use of this call centre when it becomes operational. The call centre will be piloted in Limpopo province this month and the facility will be available countrywide early in 2004.
In addition, our Taxi Recapitalisation programme will bring safe vehicles. The programme is design to bring in vehicles that are purpose built, with necessary safety specifications.
The current vehicles have no roll over bars and always disintegrate in an event of the accident. We are moving forward with taxi recapitalisation. We cannot allow a situation where 60% of commuters go to work, hospitals and schools in unsafe vehicles; the time is now to address this issue.
Owners of vehicles need to ensure that their vehicles are safe, go to regular roadworthiness test. Drivers need to do pre-trip inspections and we call upon law enforcement officers to enforce the law.
I urge you to make road safety an issue within your communities. Identify places where accidents happen and the causes of the accidents and bring them to the attention of your local authorities. Give your children the tools to be safe on the road by teaching them how to behave as pedestrians and cyclists. Buckle up on front and back seats of cars. We can reduce our risks on the road by obeying traffic rules and regulations. Let us all undertake to be law abiding road users - life is too valuable not to.
Thank you.
Issued by: Ministry of Transport
10 October 2003
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