The Chief Directorate, severely criticised in the past for the high numbers of accidents and fatalities on our roads, has begun to succeed in changing public perceptions of the complexity of the problems involved in traffic safety, and winning support for the efforts of the Minister and the Department in addressing these problems - both through immediate enforcement and communication actions and through the necessary long-term restructuring of road traffic management systems.
But neither the Chief Directorate nor the Department as a whole can solve these problems alone. Our role in the delivery of better road traffic management is a co-ordinating and facilitating one. In the search for successful solutions we are crucially dependent on the diligence and efficiency with which other government departments and authorities perform their functions. Only through their support, and with the kind of in-depth co-ordination that we have begun to achieve through the first three phases of the Arrive Alive campaign can sustainable, long-term progress be achieved in reducing South Africa's road accident rate.
Understanding the need for multi-level co-operation, the Chief Directorate has not simply waited for others to act but has taken the lead in setting up co-ordinating structures and practical links which have begun to pull together the most important role-players - those whose combined activities are critical to the delivery of real and lasting change in road traffic quality and safety.
We set ourselves two major, inter-linked priorities: highly-visible, comprehensive road safety enforcement and an aggressive communication campaign aimed at impacting on road users' behaviour, consciousness and capacity. We continually repeated the theme that management system changes would not by themselves deliver the safe roads that all South Africans long for; road users themselves must take responsibility for their attitudes and actions. In other words, nothing less than a radical change of culture on our roads is required.
On the systems side, meanwhile, an intensive effort was being put into the development of a comprehensive Business Plan towards the implementation of a Road Traffic Management Strategy (RTMS). This has been distributed to all major stakeholders, role-players and the general public. As the first step towards implementing the RTMS, the founding meeting of the Road Traffic Safety Board, the new custodian of all road traffic safety initiatives, was held on 31 January 1997.
Implementation of the RTMS got off to a slower start than we would have wished, mainly due to an initial lack of funds and resources. Road deaths over the Christmas 1996 and the Easter 1997 periods continued to show an alarming growth rate, while increasing media and public concern led to an urgent call by Parliament for drastic steps to be taken. In response, a meeting between the Minister and all the major role-players was called to discuss the emergency situation. This meeting resulted in the adoption of a Short Term Implementation Plan (STIP), which was later renamed Arrive Alive, for the RTMS.
Phase I of Arrive Alive - based on those elements of the RTMS identified as being able to deliver the greatest immediate impact - was implemented over the 4-month period from October 1997 to January 1998; Phase II was rolled-out over the Easter holiday period 1998.
In order to concentrate efforts and resources - and in the context of incomplete information on pedestrian accidents - it was decided that this first phase of the campaign would focus mainly on the drivers of vehicles, through intensified and concentrated law-enforcement actions. At the same time, it was hoped that greater driver awareness of the dangers they pose to pedestrians would result in fewer accidents involving pedestrians. It is, however, intended to give a great deal more attention to pedestrian behaviour in Phase III of the campaign.
The goal of the initial short-term campaign was to reduce fatal accidents by 5% over the 4-month period, as compared to the same period the previous year. It was calculated that achieving this target would effectively save some 200 lives in the three major target provinces. This would translate into a financial saving for these three provinces of R6,25 million in regard to fatal accidents and R311 million in regard to total accident costs. On the basis of these calculations we then launched the campaign nationwide.
In the event, the impact we made during the period of saturation enforcement in December 1997 was greater than we had dared hope for. The most recent corrected statistics issued by Central Statistical Services show that collisions fell by 11,6% (from 45 026 in Dec '96 to 39 799), while road deaths fell by a full 23,9% (from 1105 in Dec '96 to 841).
But the difficulty of the struggle to sustain gains like these is forcefully illustrated by the revised figures for the Oct '97 - Dec '98 period as a whole. January 1998 proved to be a very bad month and we ended up only just able to show an overall reduction on the Oct '96 - Dec '97 figures: fatal accidents down by 2,5% ; fatalities down by 5,5%.
However, we can say two things very clearly. Firstly, all the effort invested in the campaign to date has paid off, in the sense that the medium-term tendency towards increasing accident and death rates on our roads has been stopped in its tracks; has indeed begun to be turned around. Secondly it is quite clear that high impact, human-resource intensive interventions of the type deployed in Arrive Alive phases I and II - despite their importance in putting visible enforcement onto our roads and contributing towards consciousness-raising - do not of themselves provide a sustainable solution to the deeper problems. Both systematic change and the gradual tranformation of our road-user culture must be planned for and structured over the long term, and must be organised so that they are mutually reinforcing.
In particular, drivers on South African roads must know that prosecution to the full extent of the law will follow from traffic officers' enforcement activities, and that criminally reckless drivers will be not only be punished but removed from our roads.
In this regard, a Bill will soon be presented to Parliament providing for the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) - a standardised system of fixed penalties for common driving offences, which will by-pass the courts (except for the most serious offences) and will create a specialised Collection Agency with the statutory power to pursue offenders and attach their property if they fail to pay their fines. This will be backed up by the introduction of a penalty points demerit system, linked to the new credit card format (CCF) licence, which will provide for the removal of licences from persistently offending drivers. As these changes come onto the statute books their implications will be hammered home to the driving public within the media communication framework of Arrive Alive, in conjunction with the ongoing campaign to inform and educate.
It is always difficult accurately to assess the impact of media campaigns appealing to road users' sense of care for their fellow human beings - or indeed their own self-interest. We do believe, however, that the media campaign must be continued and that the incidence of dangerous road user behaviour can be significantly reduced in the long term by combining media interventions with a sustained educational campaign targeted at children and young people in school. In order to lay the groundwork for this Ôbottom-up' culturen change, the Chief Directorate is negotiating with the Department of Education to find appropriate mechanisms for the inclusion of traffic safety as a "subject" in Curriculum 2005.
However, in order to address the whole range of our country's road traffic quality and safety problems, our major focal point for the coming year will be the creation of a Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
A high level team consisting of representatives from this Chief Directorate and from three provincial administrations has been identified to perform a feasibility study on the establishment of this new structure. In delivering its blueprint for radical organisational change to its stakeholders in the DoT, other relevant government departments and the industry, the team will devise integrated solutions to the cluster of critical problems it has identified:
The RTMC will be modelled along similar lines to the arm's length agencies already established by the Department this year, and this structure is expected to deliver the same kinds of benefit: user-responsiveness, professionalism, and cost effectiveness. Above all, its job will be to save lives. If the RTMC is approved by Parliament it will begin operating on 1 April 1999.
The second major development during the past year was the establishment of a Cross-border Permit Agency which opened for business on 1 April 1998. Its primary aim is to regulate international road transport and law-enforcement, in a user-driven environment at arm's length from government. The major benefits expected to flow from the creation of the agency are dynamic, rationally regulated cross-border labour-migration and trade flows, plus the cost and efficiency gains associated with the agency model.
Hennie van Tonder
Chief Director: Road Transport and Traffic
The Mission of the Chief Directorate, in partnership with the provinces, other government departments and the private sector, is to develop, promote and implement affordable transport and co-ordinated traffic management systems to enhance transport and traffic quality and safety. The Chief Directorate will assume a leading role in the implementation of the SADC protocols which relate to its responsibilities.
The legislation prescribing the responsibilities and activities of the Chief Directorate is as follows:
Road Transport and Traffic comprises three directorates, with the following activity-based objectives:
Planning for Arrive Alive commenced in May 1997 and the campaign was launched during the last week of September. The first phase of the project covered a four month period from October 1997 to the end of January 1998 during which the most critical offences leading to road traffic accidents - namely speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol -were targeted. The wearing of seatbelts and vehicle and driver fitness aspects were controlled at numerous roadblocks country-wide over this period.
Traffic officials at all levels - from national to provincial (all 9 provinces) to local authority level - were mobilised for the project. The campaign was supported by intensified promotion and communications resulting in 453 TV and radio hits spread over a total time period of 27.3 hours. A total of 1064 favourable articles were printed in newspapers.
During the period more than 1,47 million notices were issued to offending motorists. Approximately 60 percent of the notices were for speeding, 11 percent for failing to wear a seatbelt, 7 percent for disobeying traffic signals and signs, 6 percent for unroadworthy vehicles and a further 4 percent for not carrying a driving licence. A total of 8 080 drivers were prosecuted for driving under the influence of alcohol. Human error contributed to 70 percent of all accidents. The major contributory causes were found to be speed and pedestrians jaywalking.
The effects of the project were monitored through independent surveys. A total of 249 alcohol, 341 seat belt wearing, 288 tyre and driving licence and 289 urban speed surveys were conducted. The weighted drinking rates for both vehicle drivers and pedestrians showed a significant decrease over the period, from approximately 10 percent to 1 percent for drivers and from approximately 15 percent to 3 percent for pedestrians. There was a nominal change in the seatbelt wearing rate while there was an overall downward trend in red light violations. Very slight changes with regard to exceeding the speed limit in both urban and rural areas were observed. Speed limits are still exceeded by approximately 70 percent of drivers in urban areas and 30 percent in rural areas.
In an awareness survey involving 2 113 drivers throughout the country, it was found that 58 percent knew about Arrive Alive. TV was stated as the medium through which drivers first became aware (37 percent), followed by radio (30 percent). Most were aware that drinking and driving is being targeted while fewer of the respondents mentioned speed and seatbelts.
Since Arrive Alive has proved itself a reasonably effective short term strategy, it will continue throughout the new financial year, with slight variation in the themes, until we begin to implement the new structures emerging from the RTMC project.
The main emphasis is on exposing all road users to road safety education through improving road user knowledge, skills and attitude in a formal, non-formal and informal education environment. The target groups are pedestrians and prospective drivers. These groups are exposed to road safety education through the following projects:
The work of the Communications Division revolved around Arrive Alive. The overall project demands ongoing co-ordination, co-operation and communication between various government departments, directorates, sections, the provinces, stakeholders and the private sector.
The first phase of Arrive Alive targeted three main themes over monthly intervals: seatbelts, speed and alcohol. Two new TV advertisements were made to cover the first two themes, but use was also made of an existing alcohol advertisement. Radio advertising was produced to cover each of the themes in several of the official languages. Flighting on the SABC TV channels and radio stations was fairly saturated.
Posters, leaflets, licence disc holders and key rings were produced for offer to the public at various roadblocks throughout the four-month run of the first phase (October 97 - January '98). These were then disseminated to the provinces for distribution to local authorities.
The National Information Centre operated on a shift basis throughout the holiday period and staff were in continual interview contact with print and electronic media. Statistics were faxed out twice daily to about sixty media representatives.
Continuous liaison was in force to collect data from the provinces and send processed statistical information back to them in return.
One TV advertisement produced for the State of Victoria (Australia) was used over this period to draw attention to the problem of drivers going too fast to control their vehicles in adverse conditions. Two new radio spots were made and broadcast on all SABC affiliated stations.
Permanent Arrive Alive road signs are being displayed on national roads to provide long-distance drivers with regular reminders at identified problem areas. Leaflets and bumper stickers were distributed to the provinces for use at roadblocks.
Four issues of Robot were published during the year. This publication remains an important link to educational facilities, public and private stakeholders and, with its transference to the Internet, we hope to reach interested parties internationally. The popular year planner was again produced towards the end of 1997.
Certain functions of the National Inspectorate of Driving Licence Testing Centres are being devolved to the Provinces. With the exception of two, all the provinces nominated officials to attend the training course in the functions of the Inspectorate. A total of 12 officers were trained at the new Free State Traffic Training College in Bloemfontein.
To accommodate the various changes in the Road Traffic Act and Regulations, an updated manual for learner drivers has been compiled in English and Afrikaans. These manuals will be published in the next financial year. Steps are being taken to translate them into the other official languages.
To accommodate the need for harmonization of driver training and testing in the SADC, the following draft manuals, based on the RSA's K-53 system have been completed and will be submitted to SADC:
A standardised driving licence test, based on the K-53 system, has been well received and could well be implemented on acceptance of the above manuals.
There are 420 registered driver's licence testing centres and approximately 2 000 examiners of driver's licences in the RSA. The Road Traffic Act, 1989 (Act no. 29 of 1989) provides for an Inspectorate of Driver's Licence Testing Centres to evaluate each centre at least once a year. Due to current staff shortages only 110 centres could be visited. However, three inspectors have now been appointed on contract which should go some way toward solving the problem.
The first in a planned series of meetings was held with provincial role-players to formulate standards for driver training, decide what qualifications driver trainers should have and how standards should be controlled, perhaps by means of an inspectorate.
A manual has been compiled in consultation with a wide spectrum of role-players to assist in addressing this problem area. It will be distributed to all driver trainers after completion.
The committee will draw up a formal training program for all instructors and develop procedures to control the industry.
The Road Traffic Act, act 29 of 1989, provides for the Minister of Transport to appoint an Inspectorate of Vehicle Test Stations to inspect these stations at least once a year. There are 415 registered vehicle test stations in RSA.
During the period in review, approximately 203 test stations were inspected; of these, approximately 195 complied with specifications. The extension for test stations to comply has been extended to 30 June 1998, after which no further extensions will be granted.
There have been a number of amendments to the Road Traffic Act, 1989 (Act 29 of 1989), during the year under review. The amendments, as in the past, were implemented in consultation with the provinces, local authorities and other role-players. Completing the division of the National Road Traffic Act between national and provincial government took longer than foreseen due to delays in some provinces in the formulation and tabling of their Bills.
The following changes relating to the Road Traffic Act and Regulations should be noted:
There have been numerous developments in the administration of the Road Traffic Act, 1989; most notably, changes in law relating to:
Changes relating to the introduction of automatic seatbelts and the introduction of a system for the administrative adjudication of road traffic offences are at an advanced stage of consultation between the DoT, the Department of Justice, the provinces and other role-players.
By the end of March 1998 the vehicle, driver, operator and infrastructure subsystems of the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) were deployed at 610 sites. Approximately 1 800 users are currently connected to the System, administering the entire vehicle and driver population. These users comprise personnel of provincial and local authorities, the South African Police Services and other government and private sector organisations. (However, the system has not yet been extended to certain areas in the former self-governing territories where the previous legislation remains to be repealed).
The new credit card format (CCF) driver's licence was introduced on schedule on 2 March 1998. At the same time, the new driver's licence codes agreed to by the Ministers of Transport of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) came into operation. In accordance with the enabling legislation all existing driver's licences have to be replaced by the credit card format licence during the next 5 years.
New accident report forms, an Officer's Accident Report Form (OAR) and a Driver's Accident Report Form (DAR), were developed. Completion of the draft layout of the new forms was approved by the 9 provinces and the South African Police Service, and a pilot project on their use was conducted over the 1997 Easter Holiday period.
It is anticipated that the new forms will be implemented during the second half of 1998. The software on NaTIS for capturing data from the new forms will be released in April 1998.
The Namibian Government commissioned the vehicle registration and licensing module of NaTIS in Windhoek, while Lesotho called for tenders for the hardware to run NaTIS, thereby initiating the implementation of the system in other SADC member states.
The curriculum for an extended five-month training course for traffic officers has been finalised and implemented. An accompanying standardised training manual has also been compiled and is currently being revised.
Registration requirements for traffic training institutions were revised and approved. Eleven traffic training institutions were evaluated according to these requirements and nine institutions have provisionally been registered to present the extended traffic officer's course.
Investigation into the establishment of a traffic academy has been completed. The business plan to support this initiative is currently being drawn up and the necessary legislative amendments drafted.
The first TCC, Mantsole in the Northern Province on the N1 between Pretoria and Warmbaths, was officially opened by Minister of Transport Mac Maharaj on 15 May 1997.
During the year under review TCCs became operational in the following provincial localities: Umhloti in KwaZulu-Natal, Colesberg in the Northern Cape, Joostenbergvlakte and Vissershoek in the Western Cape, Groblersbrug, Roedtan and Tzaneen (Mooketsi) in the Northern Province. The following centres were upgraded: Midway, Vryheid, Greytown and Hlobane in KwaZulu-Natal, and Donkerhoek, Bapsfontein, Evaton and Muldersdrift in Gauteng.
Construction of new TCCs commenced at Upington and Springbok in the Northern Cape. There is also progress in the construction of Heidelberg TCC in Gauteng, Kroonstad in the Free State Province and Mthubathuba in KwaZulu-Natal Province.
Since the opening of Mantsole significant experience has been gained in the operation and management of TCC's. The Mantsole project featured as a pilot study and is currently managed by the Northern Province. The privatization of TCC's has since became an option. Various unsolicited bids submitted in this regard by private institutions are currently being considered by the newly created SA National Roads Agency. The Co-ordinating Committees for Road Traffic Management and Traffic Control jointly ensure that the operational schedule for all TCCs is adhered to.
TRAFMAN was implemented in 46 local authorities and 52 provincial branches during the year under review. In total the system is now implemented and operational in 68 local authorities and 85 provincial branches, giving a total of 153 authorities. (This however excludes 3 of the 9 provinces - Northern Province, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape - which are still experiencing infrastructure problems prohibiting them from implementing the system).
The TRAFMAN system has been used extensively for reporting management information, not only on daily operational issues but also in the feedback needed during special national campaigns like Arrive Alive.
As part of its long term strategic planning exercise the Directorate Road Transport identified the need for a more innovative policy combining all aspects of cross-border transit into one comprehensive Act.
Taking direction from the policy, goals and objectives set out in the White Paper on Transport, it was decided that further planning should focus clearly on developmental imperatives like:
The Directorate also took into account the impact, during the reporting year, of the Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology, which was concluded and signed by Heads of SADC states. The protocol states:
[Although the protocol was ratified by the South African Parliament in September 1997, its full implementation awaits ratification by the required two-thirds of the SADC countries. However, its future implications are considerable.]
Finally, close attention was paid to the White Paper's critique of the past government's over-involvement in the regulation of bureaucratic detail, infrastructure provision and transport operations, and its corresponding weakness in policy formulation and strategic planning. These reflections gave rise to the conclusion that cross-border transport functions would best be carried out in accordance with the model of an arm's length agency. Improvements could be achieved through the establishment of a professionally managed, customer-driven Authority, with government retaining the responsibility of guaranteeing the minimum standards to which services should be provided.
The Agency - which opened its doors for business on 1 April 1998, shortly after the ratification of the enabling Cross-Border Road Transport Act, 1998 (Act no. 4 of 1998) and Regulations - will be a financially viable institution, increasingly funded on the user-pay principle, and will be managed by a board of directors reporting to Parliament through the Minister of Transport.
During the year under review Cross-Border Road Transport Agreements between RSA and Zambia, RSA and Zimbabwe, RSA and Mozambique and RSA and Malawi were ratified and taken up in our domestic law. Flowing from the Agreements and the new legislation, the processing structure for cross-border permits will be adjusted in the new year and the agreements will be implemented to reflect extra-territorial jurisdiction as far as road transport permits are concerned.
During the financial year a total of 74 658 public road carrier permits, including 40 272 in terms of multilateral agreements and 34 386 in terms of bilateral agreements, have been issued and captured on the computerised Permit Administration System (PAS).
In support of the stipulations of the SADC Protocol on Transport, Communications and Meteorology, an extensive computerised information system was maintained and enhanced. To support corridor developments in Southern Africa, the system was adapted to cater for the specific information needs of each international corridor and of all the stakeholders involved in cross-border operations.
Regular lectures were held and practical assistance given to officials from Swaziland, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho as well as from the Gauteng Department of Transport and Public Works and the Northern Cape Department of Transport, on the Thiba (minibus-taxi related) joint law-enforcement actions undertaken during the year. (See Report of the Chief Directorate Land Transport).
The Inspectorate undertook 661 law-enforcement actions and 75 655 on-road inspections. It instituted 6 220 prosecutions which led to 5 918 convictions, with 108 cases still pending. The total value of fines collected was in excess of R1 659 000. The success rate of the finalised cases was approximately 93%, an indication of the professionalism with which law-enforcement actions and subsequent court proceedings were carried out.
Appointed under the Transport Deregulation Act, 1988, the NTC considers appeals against decisions of Local Road Transportation Boards, applications for cross-border public carrier permits and advises the Minister of Transport on matters relating to road transportation.
During the year under review 61 meetings were held, considering 29 appeals which were carried forward from 1996/97 and 71 new appeals, resulting in 94 appeals being finalised. A total of 1 235 applications for public road carrier permits were considered and seven inspections were carried out.
During 1997/98 the Commission comprised the following persons:
K Gordhan Chairperson
R G Meyer Full time member
and the following members:
G R Arbee
P P M Chetty
A N Dupree-Vilakazi
E J Jacot-Guillarmod
S D Madlopa
G G Makhathini
N Mathloko
G R Pauw
Annual Report 97/98 - Main Contents || Department of Transport Organogram
Other Directorates:
Management Services || Civil Aviation Authority || Land Transport
SDIs || Shipping || SA Roads Board