The IFP believes that it is high time for the KZN Department of Transport to enforce stringent laws to curb the ongoing road carnages that plague our province’s roads. This follows yet another tragic weekend with five people being killed in separate crashes since Saturday night.
Serious questions should be asked as to what needs to be done to ensure that all road users are safe. Too many motorists are failing dismally to adhere to traffic laws. Speeding remains the main cause of accidents and there exists a blatant disregard for speed limits on our roads. While many awareness and educational campaigns have highlighted the very serious consequences of speeding, it would appear that these messages that speed kills have fallen on many a deaf ear.
The IFP also believes that unroadworthy vehicles have no place on our province’s roads. It is the responsibility of motorists to ensure that their vehicle is roadworthy and those violating the rules should be severely dealt with. Our law enforcement agencies must be capacitated to be effective in curbing road carnages.
The wanton disregard for traffic regulations by some drivers, resulting in fatal accidents is of grave concern. Many of those responsible for the carnages are driving without a licence, have an unroadworthy vehicle or are simply not heeding the rules of the road. It has also been noted that poor braking systems, traffic regulators and the failure to use appropriate warning signals when vehicles break down on highways are among the leading causes of road accidents in KwaZulu-Natal.
We call on the Hon. MEC for Transport, Mxolisi Kaunda to adopt comprehensive and sustained programmes to ensure safety on our roads. While stringent legislation is important, a national vision and leadership are essential to sustained and progressive strides in road safety. Road carnages have claimed countless lives, robbing many families of breadwinners and having a very negative impact on our economy.
As the IFP, we advocate for the laws to be applied without fear or favour to ensure that the alarming accident rate is minimised. We also believe that increased traffic law enforcement activities will assist to deter would be offenders.
Regular road side inspections must be conducted to check on roadworthiness, carrying capacity and other variables which contribute to road accidents. We want to change the fine-paying mentality to that of responsible road use. We appeal to commuters to report vehicles which do not comply with road rules. We simply cannot accept more road deaths which can be prevented if there is heightened police vigilance, harsher penalties and a culture of respect for road rules.
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Contact: Hon. Steven Moodley, MPL
IFP KZN Spokesperson on Transport
083 253 2277
07 August 2019
