Category: Uncategorized

The recently released Easter crash figures which showed that Easter road deaths increased to 235 (from 187 in 2016), coupled with the Bronkhorstspruit crash which occurred on 21 April 2017 on the R25 on the border between Mpumalanga and Gauteng provinces highlight the huge task that we face as we try to curb the road carnage on our roads. The Bronkhorstspruit crash is particularly horrendous considering that 18 of the 20 fatalities in that crash were schoolchildren on their way home from school. Ironically, the Bronkhorstspruit crash (which claimed the lives of children from Refano Primary School and Mahlenga Secondary School) occurred on the same day that the Easter crash statistics were released. While not suggesting that speed was the cause for the Bronkhorstspruit crash, it is noteworthy that speeding (together with overloading) were the main offences committed by motorists over the Easter weekend with a total of 1 730 motorists being caught and fined for speeding across the country. Continue reading “Time to speed up the implementation of traffic calming measures as we commemorate the 4th UN Global Road Safety Week (8-14 May 2017)”

One of the truisms of life is that something must happen for something to happen. We often wait for crises or some life-changing experience to happen in our various walks of life only then do we act. Unfortunately, this is a familiar (and frustrating) theme in road safety in South Africa, and perhaps elsewhere. For instance, a child must be knocked by a speeding car, a community demonstrates in the aftermath and digs up the road before we install traffic calming measures; an overloaded, unroadworthy bakkie carrying schoolchildren to school must crash before scholar transport becomes a topical issue (for only two or three weeks at that). A speeding public transport vehicle must overturn and kill and or maim dozens of people before we launch a high profile anti-speeding blitz. A haulage truck must crash through a barrier on the freeway because the driver was tired before we embark on a fatigue management programme for truck drivers. One could go on and on. This should not be like this. Continue reading “The tragedy of our approach to road safety: Something must happen for something to happen”

The just released 2016/17 festive season road crash statistics which show that 1 714 fatalities (which represent a 5% increase on the previous period) were recorded on South Africa’s roads during the just ended festive season marks a depressingly familiar cycle for South Africa: festive season crash statistics are released, followed by a lot of media attention and pronunciations to change things, then we wait for the next year’s release. The spotlight shone on festive season statistics, while understandable unfortunately is indicative of the malaise currently bedevilling the country with regards to road safety. Continue reading “Road safety improvement comes not by chance but through change”

Another year, another chance for us all to remember our road crash dead and injured. Mention is often made of 14, 000 people dying on South Africa’s roads annually as well as the R306 billion cost of crashes per year to the country. But what of the social loss to families and friends? One cannot calculate that. As we observe this year’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDR) on Sunday 20 November 2016)[1], we should keep this in mind; reflect on our progress in meeting the target of the Decade of Action for road safety goal of halving fatalities by 2020 and ask ourselves some difficult questions. Continue reading “A call to reflect on our progress as we observe the World Day of Remembrance”