MEC for Transport and Logistics Kedibone has urged road users to not drink and drive, saying the province will arrest those found drinking on the road.
“As a province we had the most fatalities during the Easter and previous festive season. We are not saying people must not drink, but we are saying do not drink and drive and those found behind the wheel, we will arrest them until they return to work because we need them back in the new year. Together, we must take responsibility for our safety and that of others,” she said.
Diale-Tlabela was speaking during the launch of Gauteng province’s Festive Season Road Safety campaign on Wednesday at Park Station under the Fatela (we care) theme.
The taxi industry, commuter forums and the entire transport industry have pledged their support for the campaign. Premier Panyaza Lesufi was in attendance as well.
Aimed at creating awareness and resolving the country’s road carnage during this period, the campaign drew support from a variety of stakeholders in order to bring deaths on the road to a stop.
The campaign comes just as the province is gearing up for travellers in and out of the province this weekend. Speaking on behalf of the South African Network for Women in Transport (SANWIT), Fusi Makhasane said gender-based violence was rife on the roads with women victims reporting incidents of abuse against them.
“We will be safe on the roads for the sake of the people of Gauteng. Women are being abused by male road users who think they own the road, and as the network, we receive reports from our members about incidents of violence against them. We have victims who have told us that they have been abused and violated. Some of them have been sworn at by their male counterparts and we urge men to not abuse women on the road because the roads do not recognise race, sex or gender,” Makhasane said.
Midday Mali, on behalf of Santaco, urged taxi drivers and all users to be responsible on the road this festive season, saying drivers cannot afford to be the bearers of bereavements this season.
“We can’t afford to be the bearers of death and bereavements, and we can’t afford to continue being associated with death as one death is one death too many.
“We have been give the task by the government to offer our services to the people. Let us note that this initiative by the government and the industry is no longer associated with bad news,” Mali said.
Diale-Tlabela said the festive season, which sees an increase in the traffic flow due to the high number of motorists who will be doing inter-provincial travel, must supplement the national campaign by Minister Lindiwe Chikunga as a year-long campaign.
“As Gauteng, in the last statistics during Easter and the festive season, we were the biggest contributors...
“Our campaign under Fatela, which means ‘care’ in the lingo of Generation Z – we felt this message is to alert people of the province that road safety requires us to care and love one another in order to arrive alive,” she said.
She said through this campaign, the rollout will be a year-long campaign to ensure everyone is included and is aware of the need to be safe on the roads.
“We must find a way for people to take an oath and commit to road safety,” she said.
She also praised the taxi industry for championing its own e-hailing app in a bid to create jobs for South Africans.
The Star