As the Easter long weekend draws to a close, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has shared promising updates on the country’s road safety campaign, with preliminary data indicating a significant decrease in road crashes and fatalities.
This came to light when Creecy and Deputy Transport Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa held a media briefing on the Easter road campaign on the N1 in Kranskop, Limpopo.
Creecy gave updates on road safety statistics, enforcement operations undertaken, and progress in ensuring safer roads during the long Easter weekend.
Creecy said preliminary data show that their road safety campaign is having a positive impact and the public is receptive to their safety messages. This is evident in the declining trend in road crashes and fatalities, although the statistics are still being finalised.
Creecy opted not to release statistics but to wait until the Easter weekend concluded because “I don’t want to jinx the very good record that we have had so far".
She said the fatalities and the crashes are showing a significant decrease in all provinces, except Mpumalanga where there was one very serious accident on Thursday evening and there have been other fatal accidents too.
Additionally, Eastern Cape and Western Cape statistics have remained largely unchanged, showing no significant increase when compared to last year.
“What is heartening is that in all six other provinces, there is a significant decrease in crashes and in fatalities,” Creecy said.
“Right now, Limpopo is leading the pack with the highest increase in safety and the lowest level of crashes and fatalities.”
Creecy said over the last few days, their officials stopped 70,000 vehicles and issued 21,000 traffic fines, with 512 arrests for various offences, which include drunk driving, excessive speeding and violating operating permits.
“We take violations of particularly public driver permits and other public permits. We take those violations very, very seriously,” Creecy said.
Continuing, she said those with outstanding arrest warrants were arrested.
Creecy said six pedestrians were arrested for jaywalking and endangering other road users.
“The highest number of drunk drivers is still, unfortunately, as I reported last weekend in the Eastern Cape, where we’ve now arrested another 111 people,” Creecy said.
“Last weekend, I spoke about somebody we arrested in Port St. Johns who was nine times over the legal limit.
“I don’t know whether it’s a competition, but we’ve now arrested somebody in Tsolo who is 10 times over the legal limit.”
Creecy said that since the start of the enforcement of their operations on March 20, they have stopped seven hundred and eighty-two thousand (782,000) vehicles. A hundred and sixteen thousand (116,000) fines were also issued.
“A total of 3,500 drivers were arrested for various offences and 89 pedestrians have been arrested for walking on highways,” Creecy continued.
“We will not allow people to walk on highways. It endangers their own lives and of course when you are driving at high speed, if you collide with a pedestrian, it’s going to endanger the lives of everybody in that vehicle.”
Creecy said a total of 2,200 unroadworthy vehicles were prevented from continuing their journey, and another 2,500 vehicles were impounded for violation of permits and provisions of the National Land Transport Act.