/ 2 March 2013

Proposed bill to see traffic offenders help in mortuaries

Proposed Bill To See Traffic Offenders Help In Mortuaries

The proposed amendment to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act also seeks to make rehabilitation for habitual offenders compulsory, the Saturday Star reported.

The measures would be piloted in Johannesburg and Pretoria, according to the newspaper.

The proposed bill would require repeat offenders to retake their drivers' tests.

It would also give the Road Traffic Infringement Agency more authority.

Registrar of the agency, Japh Chuwe, said the changes were intended to close "glaring loopholes" in existing legislation.

"It's not something achievable in the short term but we believe that sending people to community service at state mortuaries and hospitals could change their habits," he said.

3/10 for law enforcement
The Mail & Guardian in January reported that road carnage was capped off with an estimated festive season death toll of 1 465. Minister of Transport Ben Martins announced in January that between December 1 2012 and January 8 2013, 1 221 fatal accidents were recorded on South Africa’s roads.

According to the M&G, when the World Health Organisation profiled the country’s road safety status it found that South Africa had legislation in place for everything from speed limits and blood alcohol limits to seatbelt and helmet laws.

But on a scale of zero to 10, it scored an average of three for enforcement in all categories.

The 2009 Global Status Report on Road Safety showed that South Africa has 33 reported road deaths per 100 000 people. In comparison, Brazil had 18 reported deaths per 100 000, China had seven and India nine.

Even accounting for poor reporting, South Africa was among the worst offenders in the world for road deaths. – Sapa