Gauteng: Pedestrians big problem

2003-01-06 17:57

Pretoria - Ill-disciplined pedestrians were one of the most significant factors in traffic accidents in Gauteng, provincial transport MEC Khabisi Mosunkutu said on Monday.

"We are going to mount very serious pressure in the coming months," he said from a roadblock near Heidelberg, south-east of Johannesburg.

Mosunkutu said a number of campaigns had already been conducted, especially in informal settlements bordering national or provincial roads.

These were intended to make people aware of the danger of crossing the road without looking for oncoming vehicles or crossing where they were not supposed to. "Pedestrian ill-discipline is a very serious problem," he said.

Speeding

Callous motorists were another headache while speed was "a very critical matter".

Gauteng had very good roads, Mosunkutu said.

"Consequently people who are scared to go onto the Kyalami race track find it easy (to speed) on our roads."

Speeding continued despite patrols on the roads, he said.

A high number of people were arrested for alcohol-related offences, while another problem was the unroadworthiness of vehicles.

At Monday's roadblock vehicles were stopped and all vital mechanical areas were inspected. Traffic officials also checked whether drivers had card licences.

Mosunkutu said he was amazed at how many people had not yet converted to the card licences, and warned those failing to do so before March 1 that they faced stiff penalties.

Second most deaths

Gauteng is the province with the second highest summer holiday death toll - 197 by Monday.

To put this in perspective, he said, there were there between 2.7 million and 3 million vehicles registered in the province, and the figure was growing.

The number of accidents involving taxis and buses seemed to be on a general decline.

The MEC congratulated traffic officials for their efforts.

"These people are committed 24 hours a day."

Training

He rejected claims that the officials had not been trained properly, saying they had to undergo training of a minimum of six months and had refresher courses every year.

It was also unfair to say traffic officials only knew how to enforce speed limits, Mosunkutu said.

Some specialised in overload control. They were able to assist motorists on the road and they could manage emergency situations, he said.

The skills and technology were being upgraded.

With regard to the high number of accidents and road deaths, he said: "I'm convinced we will beat this problem - not in 20 years' time, but soon."

- SAPA