The Arrive Alive campaign will not tolerate traffic offenders this coming holiday season — this is according to a statement by the Department of Transport issued on Monday.
With schools countrywide closing for the December holidays, Arrive Alive is gearing itself up for the holiday rush.
The “usually busy” routes of the N1, N3 and N4 are expected to experience high volumes of traffic on Monday and Tuesday. The N1 towards Cape Town and the N6 and N9 towards the Eastern Cape will still be busy on Sunday.
In October, Arrive Alive launched the Niyabonwa (Visibility) Campaign. The primary objective of Niyabonwa is to educate, inform and create heightened road-safety awareness among road users — in particular pedestrians.
Pedestrians are not allowed on freeways and should wear light-coloured clothing and reflective items.
A recent landmark judgement by the Cape High Court has opened the door for the asset forfeiture unit to confiscate the cars of drunken drivers and speedsters.
“The Department of Transport will not tolerate drunken driving and speeding on our roads. With the assistance of the asset forfeiture unit and enforcement agencies, we have identified many dangerous drivers who are repeat offenders over the past few months, and these will soon be brought to book,” said Wendy Watson, chief director of land transport regulation in the department.
Niyabonwa will run concurrently with the seat-belt awareness campaign, the hugely successful Lights On campaign and Operation Juggernaut, which will target unroadworthy freight vehicles, buses and minibus taxis.
“Many drivers supported the Lights On campaign in December 2003, and as a result we saw a decrease in crashes and injuries.
“The Automobile Association estimated that during that period, 70% of drivers were driving with headlights on during the day, and research has shown that road deaths can be reduced by 13% by switching headlights on during the day,” added Director General of Transport Wrenelle Stander.
“We encourage even more drivers to ‘switch on’ this year. Not only will this increase your visibility, but it will also demonstrate that you are a responsible driver and a supporter of road safety,” Stander stated.
The Department of Transport has appealed to motorists to wear their seat belts in both the front and back seats of vehicles.
Arrive Alive said it has noted with concern the number of child fatalities in vehicle crashes. Many of these children had not been buckled up in child restraints.
“Be sensible and Arrive Alive!” the statement concluded. — I-Net Bridge