Having your Vehicle Checked ahead of Holiday Travels

Statement by Donald Grant, Minister of Transport and Public Works 

Today (15 December 2015), I had my official vehicle checked at a local testing station for compliance with vehicle safety standards. This check formed part of a series of vehicle inspections done in partnership with the Retail Motor Industry (RMI) Organization. The RMI run campaigns every year around vehicle safety, encouraging motorists to have their vehicles tested regularly to ensure safety and compliance.

My official vehicle passed the safety check, with no defects needing rectification. I urge all motorists to subject their vehicles to these safety checks, particularly ahead of this festive season where many people will be taking to the roads as they head to their various holiday destinations.

The Safety Test, conducted at a testing station, included the checking of the following items:

• All lights including indicators
• Seat belts
• Wipers
• Front Tyres
• Rear Tyres
• Foot-brake front
• Foot-brake rear
• Hand-brake
• Steering mechanism (steering control arm, steering box and tie rod ends)
• Front and rear suspension
• Exhaust
• Wheel alignment

Motorists must also ensure that their vehicles have valid roadworthy certificates as required by the law. Ensuring that your vehicle is safe decreases the likelihood of your vehicle being involved in a crash.

Last week Friday, 11 December 2015, we also launched our Western Cape Festive Season Operational Plan 2015/2016, to complement the Safely Home #BoozeFreeRoads campaign that will run over the next two months. Vehicle fitness forms an important part of the enforcement plan, with 220 Vehicle Check Point (VCP) operations to be conducted across the province to check that vehicles are safe and have the necessary documentation.

Our vehicle fitness efforts are also extended to public transport, with the City of Cape Town’s Traffic Officials currently conducting free vehicle inspections on public transport vehicles at Joe Gqabi and other public transport interchanges. The inspections are part of our “Public Transport Sticker Project”, which is a joint initiative of the Department of Transport and Public Works and the City of Cape Town’s Traffic Services. The initiative is aimed at ensuring that public transport vehicles are fit to transport passengers over this busy festive season.

The project is implemented over the Easter and Festive Season “Exodus” periods, where many holiday-makers will be making use of public transport to travel to their destinations across the province, and beyond. Vehicles are tested for fitness and roadworthiness, and if they are in good working order, are issued with a sticker that verifies that the vehicle has been inspected.

I should like to thank all road users, motorists, and stakeholders who continue to work with us, in partnership, to make our roads safer and to save lives. I especially should like to thank RMI for conducting the check on my vehicle this morning, and for providing free vehicle checks to other motorists as part of their campaign. We remain committed to doing all that we can to improve safety and compliance on our roads, particularly over the holiday periods.