Traffic cops kept very busy

2005-12-19 22:27

Liezel Joubert

Johannesburg - People are bent on killing themselves, says transport spokesperson Collen Msibi about the more than 82 000 speeding offences recorded in Gauteng since the beginning of December.

"People don't listen when they are told speed kills," he added.

Since the beginning of the month, nearly 89 000 fines for traffic violations have been issued in Gauteng. Of these, more than 3 000 were moving offences.

"These include offences such as using a cellphone while driving, failing to use your indicators and disregarding road signs," explained Gauteng traffic spokesperson Hennie Bezuidenhout.

By Monday, 298 people had been arrested for drunken driving in the province since the beginning of the month.

Mbisi said the road death toll climbed nationally over the long weekend to 747 from 635 accidents.

The past weekend alone there were 187 deaths on the roads.

"Worst of all is that the drivers actually come off the lightest.

"Only 178 of the 747 deaths were drivers, and the rest were passengers or pedestrians.

"The least drivers can do is to rest every two hours and not drink or drive too fast," Msibi said.

"Every person who dies on the road, is one death too many,"

Acting chief of the road traffic management corporation (RTMC) Thabo Tsholetsane said the roads between KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng were the busiest during December.

He said 129 people had died in KZN and 157 in Gauteng.

Mbisi warned that the public would have to co-operate fully with the traffic authorities to arrive safely at their destinations.

"The public must take responsibility for their own safety; don&'t exceed the speed limit and stop drinking and driving."

- Beeld