Motorists urged to obey road rules this Festive Season
Following the launch of Arrive Alive 365 Days WayaWaya Festive Season Campain by the Minister of Transport, Mr Fikile Mbalula, yesterday, Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Ms Gabisile Shabalala, reiterates her call to road users to obey the rules.
Festive Season is usually associated with high volumes of traffic with people either travelling to visit their loved ones for the holidays or travelling for various reasons.
Since Mpumalanga Province is neighbouring Mozambique and Eswatini, there is usually a high increase of traffic movement between the two countries through the province.
With increased traffic volumes and a number of vehicles on the road, there is a likely increase in the number of crashes.
Experience has shown that some of these crashes are as a result of excessive speeding, driving vehicles which are not roadworthy, fatigue and drinking and driving among others.
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It is in this context that MEC Shabalala calls on all road users to be cautious and obey the rules during the Festive Season and beyond.
She says that many lives are lost during the holiday season and it should be everyone’s responsibility to help government curb deadly road crashes.
“We are ready as a department, but we cannot bring an end to these crashes without the involvement of the road users. We need responsible drivers who will always prioritize their own safety and that of other road users.”
“We have lost many lives this year due to Covid-19 and we cannot afford to lose more due to recklessness and negligent driving.
Traffic officers on the other hand must not show any leniency to those who disobey the rules during this holiday season and beyond,” she says.
The department together with various stakeholders will stage road blocks, various law enforcement operations, road safety campaigns and rest stops on most routes especially those that have been identified as major contributors to road crashes in the province during the previous holidays.
Meanwhile, the MEC also calls on communities to continue to adhere to the Covid-19 regulations as festivities are expected to increase during this period.
She says that the fact that the country has been placed on Alert level one does not mean that the virus is gone.
She advises communities to continue adhering to the regulations by among other things, maintaining social distance, regularly sanitizing or washing of hands and wearing masks in public spaces.
She states that the police should not hesitate to arrest those who will be found disobeying the regulations.
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