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

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? 2

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. 3

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). 4

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

6. STATUS QUO IN 2009 6  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 7  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 8  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 9  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: o Drunk driving: 3 917 o Reckless & negligent driving: 314 o Excessive speed: 415 o Overloading: 250 o Public transport offences (taxis, buses): 246 o Driving licences and false documents: 251 o Pedestrians jaywalking: 218

10. THE 2010/11 FESTIVE PERIOD 10  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 11  EC: 169  Limpopo: 155  WC: 127  Mpumalanga: 115  NW: 98  Free State: 90  Northern Cape: 35

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

13. LAW ENFORCEMENT IN 2010/11) 13  Between 1 Dec. 2010 & 8 Jan. 2011, 415 motorists were arrested for excessive speed & these included the ff. incidents: o 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. o On 6 Jan. 2011, a HR officer was caught speeding at 221 km/h on the N4 near Garankuwa. o 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 14  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: o 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) 15 o 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. o 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. o As of May 2011, no less than 10 000 drivers are screened every month for drinking & driving. o The new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) is vigorously enforced. o The DoT has made amendments to the Road Traffic Act (No. 93 of 1996).

16. SA’S RESPONSE (continues) 16 o 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. o 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. o 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. o The DoT is strengthening partnerships with Govt, particularly with the Departments of Health, Soc. Development, Education & Police.

17. SA’S RESPONSE (continues) 17 o The DoT is improving its data & reporting on road fatalities & injuries. o The DoT is also embarking on a massive education and communication campaign on road safety. o 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? 18  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: o 12 984 120 vehicles & drivers were checked. o 5 540 275 fines were issued for various traffic offences. o 18 527 drunk drivers were arrested. o 50 272 un-roadworthy vehicles (the majority of which were buses and

19. IS THERE ANY PROGRESS? (continues) 19 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) 20 o 13 for drinking and driving. o 10 for excessive speed. o 8 for reckless & or negligent driving. o 24 in connection with transport permits. o 171 for overloading.

21. CONCLUSION 21  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 22