Wednesday, December 23, 1998
Traffic law enforcement has been stepped up as from Wednesday throughout the country.
This is in anticipation of peak pre-Christmas Day traffic flows and follows one of the worst crashes this festive season in which 21 people lost their lives on the N1 near Laingsburg early this morning. The crash occurred when a bus bound for the Eastern Cape collided head on with a truck. Both drivers were killed, as well as 19 passengers, including four children.
According to eye witnesses, the bus apparent swerved into the opposite lane just before the crash. The truck hit the bus on the side, ripping the side open from the front to the back.
The provincial hospital at Laingsburg assisted the injured, but staffed by only one doctor, a matron and 10 nursing staff, 7 seriously injured passengers had to be airlifted by helicopter to provincial and private hospitals in and near Cape Town.
The Minister of Transport Mac Maharaj expressed his shock. "This crash show the human tragedy of what happens on our roads and that so many lives can be wasted as a result of one crash. My condolences go to the families and friends of the 21 people killed. I would also like to thank all the medical emergency rescue and traffic officials who arrived at the scene so quickly.
"But this crash tells all South Africans that we must redouble our efforts to educate our road users on the dangers of speeding and fatigue, especially when travelling long distances. From the reports my department has received on the damage done to both vehicles, speed was obviously a factor as one side of the bus was ripped apart on impact. If you are going to drive at night, be extra careful about speeding as distance is hard to judge and fatigue is a factor which further undermines your judgement of speed and distance. I would like to make a special plea to the drivers of passenger transport vehicles to be especially careful on our roads. I ask them to please take extra care as they have the added and direct responsibility of the people they are transporting. They deserve to arrive alive at their destination and you, the driver, hold the keys."
Roving and static roadblocks can be expected at any time of the day at usual as well as unexpected locations. In general, drivers will be stopped for offences ranging from driving under the influence of alcohol to driving unlicensed vehicles.
In Greater Johannesburg, traffic police have merged their ARRIVE ALIVE efforts with an additional campaign where road blocks will be linked to computers to check whether drivers have failed to appear in court for traffic offences or to pay outstanding fines.
"It's no use issuing new summonses and fines when old ones have been ignored. Outstanding warrants of arrest will be served at our road blocks to catch up with these drivers," a spokesman for the Gauteng Traffic Police said.
With the festive season getting into the real swing of things tomorrow, a KwaZulu Natal Provincial Traffic Police spokesman again warned drivers about drinking and driving and speeding.
Since the beginning of this month, as part of the Asiphephe programme, in which KZN provincial traffic police and certain local authorities and organisations participate, the following prosecutions have taken place:
1 571 drivers have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol;
110 drivers have been arrested for reckless and/or negligent driving;
223 044 written notices have been issued for speeding;
134 drivers have been arrested for speeding.
He said, that apart from roving the static roadblocks and additional staff being on duty, traffic officers in marked and unmarked vehicles fitted with in-car violation recorders will be monitoring drivers.
"An offence will be recorded as it occurs and the visual recording used as evidence in a court of law. This equipment will be used for `moving' violations, such as illegal crossing of barrier lines, dangerous, negligent or inconsiderate driving, speeding and other offences."
Drivers in KwaZulu Natal noticing other road users committing a traffic offence can report these incidents to the KZN Traffic Police at a toll free number - 0800-339911.
"Obviously, drivers should not use their cellphones while driving, but pull off the road or get a passenger to report the incident," the spokesman said.
Mr Titus Malaza, Chief of the Greater Johannesburg Traffic Police, said road blocks in the area would be stepped up and would also include Soweto, Dobsonville and other "unexpected" road block locations. These would concentrate on all traffic offences and check outstanding fines and warrants for arrest as well.
During the past two weeks, roadblocks in Soweto and other areas had been set up for the first time. More than 30 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of liquor.
In addition to monthly roadblocks in the various precincts, the Johannesburg CBD, Braamfontein and Rosebank would also receive additional attention," he concluded.
The current ARRIVE ALIVE campaign runs over seven months but roughly 30% of the effort is put in during the December holiday in terms of man hours and the number of operations.
Over and above the normal law enforcement planned by local and provincial traffic authorities, their officers will be working an extra 223,458 man hours as part of ARRIVE ALIVE. Amongst others, 551 roadblocks, mainly focusing on detecting drunk drivers were planned for this month.
According to reports received from the South Africa Police Services, 455 people died on our roads since 1 December. 67 were killed on roads in Gauteng, 90 in KwaZulu Natal, 32 in North West, 72 in Western Cape, 19 in Northern Cape, 59 in Eastern Cape, 37 in Free State, 44 in Mpumalanga and 35 in the Northern Province.
Up to date statistics of road fatalities are available from the ARRIVE ALIVE Information Centre (012) 309 3669, which operates from 8am to 5pm daily.
Issued on behalf of: National Department of Transport For More Information: Arrive Alive Information Centre Telephone: (012) 309-3669 or A/H 082-801-0910 or 082-554-3154
Issued by: Sasani Communications Contact: Sylvia Ortlieb Telephone: 011 784 2598
For more information on the Department of Transport and updated road reports, please visit our web-wite at http://www.transport.gov.za