Denneboom Taxi Rank - Mamelodi, Pretoria, 17 September 2001
Distinguished guests,
Colleagues,
Representatives of the transport industry,
Commuters,
Youth and women groups,
Members of the community,
The media, ladies and gentlemen.
A very good morning to you. It is indeed a great privilege to be here today. To see so many of you is very encouraging which is a clear indication of your dedication and commitment to drastically reduce the high number of peestrian deaths on our roads. You are all very well aware of our country's high fatality rate of which about 40% is pedestrians. These unacceptably high figures, are threatening to destroy our economy and our quality of life.
All commuters on public transport faclities such as trains, buses and mini bus taxi's, during one or more stages of their daily trips, become pedestrians. When they get off a train to go to a bus or a minibus taxi; or changing modes between a bus and a minibus; or when they get off the particular mode of transport to walk to their offices; places of employment or to their homes at the end of the day they become pedestrians. All of us at one or other time every day are pedestrians. When commuters or passengers become pedestrians they must make sure that they become safe pedestrians who obey the rules of the road; cross roads in a responsible and safe manner; at safe places; provide assistance to young children; the elderly and the disabled.
Pedestrians must make sure that they are visible to vehicles day and night and always walk facing on-coming traffic. If it is at all possible pedestrians should walk alongside the road - not on the road, pedestrians must at all times wait, look carefully right, left and right again and make sure that it is safe before they cross a road. Pedestrians must remember that many drivers of road vehicles exceed the speed limit and not take chances.
It is also the responsibility of drivers of minibus taxi's and buses to make sure that they load and offload their passengers at safe places, well off the road. On certain roads safe stopping places have been provided - these must be used where provided. Where it is not provided, drivers must not stop in unsafe locations but seek a safe location away from a busy junction and not stop in a place where it interferes with smooth traffic flow or place their passengers in an unsafe situation.
When pedestrians become commuters they also have rights. They are the people who make use of and support the various transport modes. Their safety must be ensured and protected at all times. They are entitled to a service provided by a transport service provider with a vehicle, whether it be a train, bus or minibus taxi that is maintained to the required standards and which is driven by a properly trained and licenced driver that drives within the speed limit, does not drink and drive; and who takes the safety of his or her passengers at heart and ensures that the vehicle is in a roadworthy condition. I stress that all rules of the road must be obeyed at all times.
Operators also have responsibilities. They must ensure that their vehicles are in a good roadworthy condition and well maintained and clean. They must ensure that they employ responsible drivers who are adequately trained in both driving skills and treatment of passengers.
A large percentage of pedestrian casualties in road accidents - deaths and injuries, are children especially schoolchildren. This is a tragic and unnecessary waste of human life. The pedestrian casualty problem is not limited to urban areas, about one third of all pedestrian fatalities in south africa occur on rural roads.
In this regard school teachers and parents have a major role to play. Parents must teach their children from a very young age about the potential dangers posed by road vehicles. Parents must ensure that they are assisted across roads or ensure adequate supervision when they walk along and across public roads. I would also like to appeal to parents not to send their young children alone to shops or other places particularly when it is dark.
Road safety programmes are available in the school curricula. Teachers must ensure that these programmes are adequately implemented.
Specific focus on measures, such as these designed to reduce pedestrian casualties can make a big positive contribution.
Government - national and provincial - department, with the full support of and generous contributions by comutanet and mtn to promote pedestrian safety is launching this communication campaign today in an iniative to highlight the carnage on our roads. Passengers who travel by taxi, bus or train are very powerful agents of change and this campaign is therefore aimed at communicating key road safety messages and highlighting passenger rights.
This specific campaign will run over an initial period of three months with the idea of extending it into next year together with other pedestrian safety related projects. Through this we expect to increase pedestrian awareness and hopefully reduce fatalities. Among other supporting events, this campaign includes the printing and distribution of posters and stickers to be displayed at taxi ranks and on and within trains, buses and minibus taxis.
One of the key issues that must be addressed in the pedestrian campaign is community involvement. It is therefore very significant that so many of you have turned out today in support of this programme. We can and we must work together to drive death off our roads. I am totally committed to this nationwide drive for pedestrian safety as a specific target within the overall and comprehensive arrive alive campaign which is also directed at promoting road safety. Government has defined pedestrian safety as a critical component of our new national road safety strategy : the road to safety and we hope to see positive results coming in from every province and local authority in our country.
We must build respect for life - respect for our own lives and the lives of others. Give yourselves a chance to live. Be a responsible pedestrian, and obey the rules. Our country can no longer afford the high cost and trauma experienced by grieving families resulting from road deaths. We must continue to strive to save lives on our roads and reduce disabilities caused by road accidents.
I want to make it clear that a large part of the responsibility for the high percentage of pedestrian casualties is that of vehicle owners and drivers. Many drive recklessly. Many drive too fast. Some are unfit to be drivers. Many vehicles are not roadworthy. Often drivers show no consideration for pedestrians. Even children are given no consideration. I am calling on all vehicle owners and drivers to show consideration for pedestrians - especially children. I also call on our law enforcement agencies and our justice system to take tough legal action against drivers who are responsible for knocking down pedestrians. The law is designed to protect pedestrians. The law must be enforced.
There is also a responsibility on government - national, provincial and local to create better conditions with better signage and road design to make it safer for pedestrians to use and cross roads.
Road safety is a national priority and an issue that affects each and every single south african every day, directly or indirectly. It is becoming more and more evident that no one organisation can single handedly change the mindset of millions of south africans. I therefore want to express my gratitude to our sponsors here today, mtn and comutanet for their generous contribution to the campaign. There is no doubt that this sponsorship support will help to develop a culture of responsible road usage which in turn will promote a reduction in the number of pedestrian related accidents. More public-private partnerships are required to further strengthen this effort. I would therefore like to appeal to others in the private sector to follow the example of committed responsible organisations like mtn and comutanet and provide support for improved road safety by south african road users. I sincerely hope that your participation in the national road safety proramme will grow from strength to strength.
In conclusion I want to mention that, as we build up to the festive season over the next few months, I would like all role players to start playing an active and postive role in this years festive season campaign over december and january. I urge all the public tranpsort organisations represented here today, to start preparing for the coming holiday period: ensure that your minibuses and buses are roadworthy; ensure that your drivers are well trained and obey traffic rules. Drivers it is also your responsibility to ensure that the vehicles you are driving are in a good and sound condition. Take care of your passengers. Watch out for pedestrians.
Only together can we keep south africa moving safely forward.
Thank you