Launch of Second UN Decade of Action an opportunity for reflection on our success and future challenges

Media Release by Daylin Mitchell, Western Cape Minister of Transport and Public Works

I would like to state the support of the Western Cape Government, and that of my Department and its officials for the new United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, officially launching today, 28 October 2021. I look forward to personally receiving the WHO’s Global Plan for 2021 to 2030 from South Africans Against Drunk Driving and the SADC Alliance of Road Safety NGO’s at the launch of the Western Cape Festive Season Plan on the 13th of December.

In 2010, when my predecessor Robin Carlisle announced the Department’s support for the first UN Decade of Action for road safety, the road death rate in the Western Cape stood at 29,25 deaths per 100 000 population. With its support for the Decade of Action, the Western Cape Government accepted the challenge of a fifty percent reduction in road traffic fatalities by 2020. In 2020, the death rate on our roads stood at 15,82. This is a reduction of forty six per cent (46%), a significant marker of how much safer our roads have become.

While this is a fantastic achievement, we must be realistic before we pat ourselves on the back too much. In 2010, 1453 people were senselessly killed on Western Cape roads. In 2020 this number was down to 1108, a decrease of 23,7% in absolute numbers of fatalities, a much lower decrease than in the death rate. Some of our gains come from the lockdowns imposed in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Much remains to be done, especially as our economy opens up and alcohol sales and consumption patterns return to normal. Alcohol continues to be central to traffic injuries in our province, for pedestrians as much as drivers and passengers, and we can anticipate fatalities rising again as access to alcohol increases.

Some of the projects and programs we have introduced that helped us achieve safer roads in the Western Cape in the first Decade of Action:

The introduction of the award-winning Safely Home campaign in 2009. Safely Home has been “always on”, 24/7, 365 days per year, providing targeted behaviour change messaging and support for Traffic Law Enforcement.

The reinstatement and full integration of the Traffic Management Chief Directorate within the Department of Transport & Public Works, which has seen substantial increases in funding for Traffic Law Enforcement. Traffic Law Enforcement is increasingly equipped with world-class cutting edge technology, and every year we are achieving record class sizes at the Gene Louw Traffic College due to our recruiting drive to grow the service.

The adoption of Vision Zero in 2015, the simple belief that no-one should be killed or injured on our roads, and our alignment of policy towards that end.

• The increase in targeting of pedestrians, both in terms of law enforcement and our marketing efforts, and also in terms of infrastructure safety, working together with our national and municipal partners.
• Going forward, in addition to performing our mandated functions to provide safe, well-regulated and well-maintained roads, we will also be pursuing major strategic initiatives in the coming Decade of Action.
• As we grow and strengthen Traffic Law Enforcement, we will be developing the Provincial Traffic Services into the Western Cape Highway Patrol, reflecting its position as the champion of safety and law and order on the province’s national and regional roads.
• Rolling out and strengthening the Blue Dot service, which promotes safer roads by providing real incentives to minibus taxi operators to ensure their drivers operate within the confines of the law, through a passenger feedback and an app-based incentive platform.
• Following our success in supporting the Department of Health with community-driven interventions during the previous peaks of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are also investigating the possibility of developing community led safety initiatives along the highest priority routes, which are aimed not only at promoting community and road safety but also promoting a healthier, more resilient society through the creation of sports facilities and food gardens.

I will be studying the Global Plan for further areas where we as the custodians of the province’s highway network can make a difference and will continue to engage with NGO’s such as SADD and the members of the SADC Alliance of Road Safety NGOs.

I call on all sectors of society in our province to join hands with the United Nations and the World Health Organization in initiating this Global Plan for 2021 – 2030. Whoever you are, in whatever way you can, change starts with you.

Media Queries:
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka
Spokesperson for Minister Daylin Mitchell
Cell: 082 953 0026
Email: Ntomboxolo.Makoba-Somdaka@westerncape.gov.za