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The State of Road Safety in South Africa: Is the Country Making Much Headway?

The State of Road Safety in South Africa: Is the Country Making Much Headway?. 22 November 2011. INTRODUCTION. Annual road fatalities in 2009/10. Road accidents during 2009/10 and 2010/11 festive seasons. Measures put in place to address the carnage.

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The State of Road Safety in South Africa: Is the Country Making Much Headway?

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  1. The State of Road Safety in South Africa: Is the Country Making Much Headway? 22 November 2011

  2. INTRODUCTION • Annual road fatalities in 2009/10. • Road accidents during 2009/10 and 2010/11 festive seasons. • Measures put in place to address the carnage. • Are interventions yielding positive results?

  3. INTRODUCTION • World Bank – more than 1.7 million die on road crashes annually. • About 70% occur in developing countries. • Africa has the highest road injury fatality rate of all the WHO regions.

  4. WHAT IS THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN SA? • SA is not immune from the state of affairs • More than 16 000 die on SA’s roads annually, costing the country more than R40 billion. • If nothing is done to curb the carnage, road crashes will be second largest cause of deaths by 2020, which is higher than HIV& AIDS & malaria put together. • Road safety strategies, but road accidents are not decreasing. • Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign (1997).

  5. ARRIVE ALIVE CAMPAIGN (continues) • The main objectives of Arrive Campaign were & still are: • Reducing the number of road traffic accidents by 5%; compared to the same period the previous year. • Improving road user compliance with traffic laws; and • Forging an improved working relationship between traffic authorities at various levels of Govt.

  6. STATUS QUO IN 2009 • From 1 Jan to 31 Dec 2009, there were 10 857 fatal crashes, translating into 0.48% over the same period in 2008. • However, the number of fatalities during the same period decreased by 107 (0.77%), from 13 875 in 2008 to 13 768 in 2009. • The driver, passenger, pedestrian fatalities constituted 29.53%, 36.49% & 33.98% respectively of all the fatalities. • The human factor contributed 82.85% to total crashes, while the vehicle factor contributed 9.13% & road & environment contributed 8.2%.

  7. THE 2009/10 FESTIVE SEASON • The Arrive Alive Road Safety Campaign commenced from 1 Dec 2009 to 11 Jan 2010. • According to the RTMC, 1 582 deaths (397 drivers, 637 passengers & 548 pedestrians) emanated from 1 247 fatal crashes during this period. • The highest number of fatalities was recorded on roads within cities & towns, followed by provincial & national roads. • Of the 1 582 road deaths, the provincial breakdown was as follows:

  8. THE 2009/10 FESTIVE SEASON • KwaZulu-Natal: 298 • Gauteng: 237 • Eastern Cape: 213 • Limpopo: 201 • Mpumalanga: 159 • Western Cape: 153 • Free State: 132 • North West: 123 • Northern Cape: 66

  9. LAW ENFORCEMENT MEASURES • During the 2009/10 period, law enforcement officers conducted 1 500 roadblocks throughout the country & checked more than 1.2 million vehicles and drivers. • More than 6 000 vehicles – including 536 buses & 1 699 taxis – were impounded, suspended and/or discontinued. • More than 5 900 arrests were effected, including: • Drunk driving: 3 917 • Reckless & negligent driving: 314 • Excessive speed: 415 • Overloading: 250 • Public transport offences (taxis, buses): 246 • Driving licences and false documents: 251 • Pedestrians jaywalking: 218

  10. THE 2010/11 FESTIVE PERIOD • Between 1 Dec. 2010 & 8 Jan. 2011, 1 221 fatal crashes occurred, resulting in 1 551 fatalities. • The 3 major accidents were: • KZN – Mtubatuba, between a minibus and midi-bus on 23 Dec 2010, with 20 fatalities. • KZN – Utrecht, single vehicle overturned (minibus), with 11 fatalities. • The provincial breakdown of fatalities was as follows: • KZN: 232 • Gauteng: 200

  11. THE 2010/11 FESTIVE PERIOD • EC: 169 • Limpopo: 155 • WC: 127 • Mpumalanga: 115 • NW: 98 • Free State: 90 • Northern Cape: 35

  12. THE 2010/11 FESTIVE PERIOD • The identified contributory factors were as follows: • Speeding. • Overtaking when not safe to do so. • Fatigue. • Overloading. • Tyre burst.

  13. LAW ENFORCEMENT IN 2010/11) • Between 1 Dec. 2010 & 8 Jan. 2011, 415 motorists were arrested for excessive speed & these included the ff. incidents: • On 8 Jan. 2011, a speedster was arrested for travelling at 208km/h & being 3 times over the legal alcohol limit on the N1 south near Jhb. • On 6 Jan. 2011, a HR officer was caught speeding at 221 km/h on the N4 near Garankuwa. • Free State, MEC for Sport, Arts & Culture, Dan Kgothule, was arrested for speeding at 235 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. He pleaded guilty & was sentenced to a fine of R20 000 in the Bloem Magistrate’s Court.

  14. SA’s RESPONSE TO THE EPIDEMIC • The SA Govt has committed itself to reducing road fatalities by 50% between 2007 & 2015. • Concomitant with this commitment, Govt has joined the UN’s Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 & devised an engaging & multi-pronged programme involving all organs of society with a view to arresting road deaths. • The programme includes, but not limited to: • Finalization and implementation of SA’s National Road Safety Strategy & Action Plan for 2011 - 2020. The Strategy focuses on better utilization of human and financial resources across the spheres of Govt to address road deaths.

  15. SA’S RESPONSE (continues) • Each province, district municipality and local municipality must report every month on the number of road accidents occurring in their area, what the causal factors are & how these are being addressed. • On 15 April 2011, traffic officers who form part of SA’s first National Traffic Intervention Unit commenced duty. The Unit is deployed to high accident frequency locations & traffic hotspots across the country. • As of May 2011, no less than 10 000 drivers are screened every month for drinking & driving. • The new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) is vigorously enforced. • The DoT has made amendments to the Road Traffic Act (No. 93 of 1996).

  16. SA’S RESPONSE (continues) • Moreover, as of 20 Nov. 2011, driving over the prescribed speed by more than 30 km/h in an urban area and more than 40 km/h outside an urban area may result in the suspension or cancellation of one’s driving licence. • The DoT has stated that the national roll-out of the AARTO Act (No. 46 of 1998) & the Points Demerit System will be announced in due course. • The DoT is in discussions as regards proposals calling for the total ban on consuming alcohol whilst driving & or lowering the current legal alcohol limit, day time running lights & compulsory periodic vehicle testing. • The DoT is strengthening partnerships with Govt, particularly with the Departments of Health, Soc. Development, Education & Police.

  17. SA’S RESPONSE (continues) • The DoT is improving its data & reporting on road fatalities & injuries. • The DoT is also embarking on a massive education and communication campaign on road safety. • Progress is being made towards ensuring that road safety education forms part of the life skills curriculum at schools & that every Grade 11 learner will have a learner’s licence & that every 18 year old will have a driving licence.

  18. IS THERE ANY PROGRESS? • It is a truism that road fatalities stubbornly refuse to go away. • However, the interventions have yielded positive results & NREP is a case point. • Since its inception, the ff achievements have been registered: • 12 984 120 vehicles & drivers were checked. • 5 540 275 fines were issued for various traffic offences. • 18 527 drunk drivers were arrested. • 50 272 un-roadworthy vehicles (the majority of which were buses and

  19. IS THERE ANY PROGRESS? (continues) • taxis) were discontinued from use. • In August 2011 alone, more than 4 000 arrests were effected & 3 429 vehicles were discontinued from use. • In addition, from 31 August to 11 September 2011, 71 985 public transport vehicles were stopped & checked. • 210 scholar transport vehicles, 47 buses, 108 mini-buses & 41 trucks were discontinued from use & 18 244 fines were issued. • More than 230 public transport drivers were arrested as follows:

  20. IS THERE ANY PROGRESS? (continues) • 13 for drinking and driving. • 10 for excessive speed. • 8 for reckless & or negligent driving. • 24 in connection with transport permits. • 171 for overloading.

  21. CONCLUSION • Combating road fatalities is no longer Govt’s responsibility alone. An urgent mind shift is needed in order to substantially lower the fatal rates on South Africa’s roads. • All road users should take road safety very seriously & should make it a priority. • Government should continue with its campaigns, road shows & awareness programmes to educate the public about road safety. • The NB of safe road infrastructure should also not be underestimated. • Pedestrian safety should always be borne in mind when considering road safety, esp. in poorer communities where pedestrians are prevalent.

  22. THANK YOU

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