Minister Mbalula urges motorists to be responsible on roads during Easter holiday
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As SA gets ready for one of the busiest times of the year, Roads and Transports Minister Fikile Mbalula has taken this time to urge road users to be easy and responsible on the roads ahead of the Easter holiday.
It is usually during this period where roads that includes the N1 from Gauteng to Limpopo, the N3 from Gauteng to KwaZulu-Natal, the N2 from the Western Cape to Eastern Cape, the N14 from Gauteng to the North West and the N12 gets to be the busiest.
Launching the 2022 Easter Road Safety campaign on the N12 in Breswol on Tuesday, the Minister said this period “requires of us to skillfully deploy resources… if we are to succeed in arresting [road] carnage”.
Traffic officers on the roads have had a long break since the discovery of Covid-19 in the past two years.
Drunk and reckless driving has been the most contributing factor in the loss of lives on the roads during this time in the past.
“Others will be crossing our land borders to neighbouring states to spend time with families and loved ones. Some will be crossing provincial boundaries to visit families and taking a much-needed break from work and institutions of learning in the cities.”
“During this period, members of the South African Police Service, National Traffic Police, provincial traffic officers and municipal traffic officers will enforce the law,” said Mbalula.
In January and February this year, 1 823 people lost their lives on South African roads. This was higher compared to the 1 521 fatalities in the same period in 2021.
Over the last five years, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo accounted for the highest number of fatalities compared to other provinces.
“All provinces experienced spikes in fatalities in the first two months of the year, with Gauteng leading with 355 deaths, followed by KZN with 269, Western Cape 249, Limpopo 239 and Eastern Cape 232.
“The North West recorded 170 fatalities, Mpumalanga 158, Free State 96 and Northern Cape 66,” said Mbalula.
To stop the fatalities on the roads, Minister Mbalula said that government went on various campaigns nationwide to educate people about the dangers of reckless driving and drunk driving.
