The department of transport will not release its statistics of the December road fatalities daily as in previous years, after last year’s Arrive Alive figures were found to be incorrect.
The department of transport will not release its statistics of the December road fatalities daily as in previous years, after last year’s Arrive Alive figures were found to be incorrect.
Last year’s Arrive Alive campaign was criticised after stating that the road death toll over the Festive season had increased by 25 per cent from 2001.
The Department of Transport has decided to release the figures to the public only once they have been checked and deemed accurate, deputy-director Sipho Khumalo said. They would not be released daily, or even weekly as was previously done.
According to Khumalo, last year’s figures were based on preliminary information and the actual increase had only been three per cent year-on-year.
Khumalo also said more people were killed on the roads in 2002 than 2001 and Arrive Alive aimed to reduce the number of road deaths this festive period by 5 per cent.
Statistics did not prompt road users to change their behaviour and Khumalo explained that enforcement also made little difference. The average driver’s road behaviour improved for a measly 17 minutes after being pulled over by a traffic official and about 90 per cent of road accidents could be traced back to errant drivers.
“But even if we do everything we can as a government, until road users assume responsibility for their own actions, we will never succeed,” Khumalo said.
“We therefore rely on road users to take responsibility for their own safety and to drive with their lights on during the day to increase the visibility of their vehicle to other road users, including pedestrians.”
However, there have been several reports of motorists being fined for driving with their lights on.
Khumalo confirmed that some motorists had been fined for driving with their lights on, but said such fines were invalid. He added that steps were being taken to ensure that all traffic officials were made aware of the campaign.
The Transport Department was doing its best to contain road deaths and has launched special operations and awareness campaigns, Khumalo said. It has also made available to pay traffic officials’ overtime to increase visible policing on the roads.
Traffic on the country’s roads is expected to increase dramatically over the next few days following the closure of schools and businesses for the holiday season.