By Akani Nkuna
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has told motorists to be patient and drive responsibly ahead of the Easter weekend, as government stepped up road safety checks on major routes expected to carry heavier traffic volumes.
“Be patient. Be considerate. It does not really matter if somebody goes in front of you. What matter is you arrive alive and you will be with us this Easter, next Easter and many Easters to come,” she said on Thursday during a road and safety compliance inspection and enforcement at the N1 Kranskop Toll Plaza.
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“To public transport passengers we ask you not to board vehicles that you can see are unsafe. Your safety is your right. To all drivers, your actions can save lives or cast them. Let us choose to behave responsibly.”
She told drivers and commuters to support government measures aimed at reducing crashes through stricter enforcement and closer observance of the rules of the road.
The minister said government was working towards the road safety target of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030 through enforcement and community-based interventions, including campaigns against drinking and driving and reckless behaviour on the roads.
“Driver behaviour contributes to 80% of accidents in our country…. We do need everybody to ensure that they do not consume any alcohol or drugs before they get behind the wheel of a car,” Creecy said.
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Creecy said the department was pursuing legislative changes to tighten restrictions on drinking and driving, after government announced in January that it would begin a process to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act to scrap the current legal alcohol threshold for drivers.
She encouraged people going out for entertainment to use e-hailing services if they had consumed alcohol, while also urging people to at least “party at home” to avoid being on the streets while intoxicated.
Creecy also noted the high number of pedestrian-related crashes, saying some pedestrian bridges had effectively become crime hotspots, leading people to avoid using them and instead cross dangerous highways near residential areas.
She said, however, that the department had engaged local community leaders, including councillors, to address those problems.
At the same event, Limpopo Premier Phophi Ramathuba said drivers needed to understand the weight of the responsibility they carried, given that they were entrusted with the lives of passengers and other road users.
“Your decision as a driver, a taxi driver, is not different from a decision that an anaesthetist surgeon and a pilot make. We need to change our attitude, if we do that, we will see many lives will be saved,” Ramathuba said.
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