Media Release by Daylin Mitchell Western Cape Minister of Transport and Public Works
As the Easter weekend is fast approaching, we are gearing up to launch our focused traffic safety campaign.
Just as during the festive season, we are once again expecting a significant movement of vehicular traffic on our roads as many people are intending to travel to various destinations including into the province during the long weekend.
Following the President’s announcement to end the National State of Disaster last night, we will follow our normal procedure. Our traffic officers will use their handheld devices, and all the statistics will continue to be manually recorded and consolidated.
While the lifting of most restrictions is good news for the tourism economy of the Western Cape, it will require us to take extra measures to keep motorists and our roads safe. I will announce a detailed Easter Season Safety Plan next week.
In the week of 28 March to 3 April 2022, Western Cape Provincial Traffic Services implemented a total of 216 integrated roadblocks, vehicle check point and speed control operations across the province, and 28 622 vehicles were stopped and checked.
A total of 163 speeding offences were recorded and 6 596 fines were issued for various traffic violations ranging from driver to vehicle fitness in the total amount of R5 702 250.
Twenty vehicles were impounded and 55 were discontinued for unroadworthiness.
Speeding is a serious concern. The faster you drive, the less time you have to respond to an emergency and the more space you need to stop to avoid a crash. Speeding is irresponsible and dangerous. The highest speeds recorded this week were as follows:
- 170 km/h in a 120 km/h zone
- 144 km/h in a 100 km/h zone
- 124 km/h in a 80 km/h zone
- 84 km/h in a 60 km/h zone
National Road Traffic Act, Criminal Procedure Act, and Disaster Management Act regulations
A total of 40 arrests were made for the following offences:
- 25 x driving under the influence of alcohol
- 1 x speeding
- 4 x reckless and negligent driving
- 1 x goods overloading
- 5 x possession of fraudulent documentation
- 2 x possession of stolen property
- 1 x obstructing or hindering an authorised officer in the execution of his/her duty.
- 1 x intimidating a traffic officer
Fatalities recorded between 28 March to 03 April 2022
A total of 37 crashes occurred in the reporting period, and 39 fatalities were recorded:
- 10 x drivers
- 2 x motorcyclists
- 11 x passengers
- 16 x pedestrians
I would like to thank all our traffic officers for making every effort to enforce the law during these difficult times.
I urge all the people of the Western Cape to respect the rules of the road. It’s up to you to make the difference.
#BeTheChange you want to see on our roads.
Media Queries:
Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka
Spokesperson for Minister Daylin Mitchell
Cell: 082 953 0026
Email: Ntomboxolo.Makoba-Somdaka@westerncape.gov.za