Be safe this #PayDayBlues weekend

The Department of Transport and Public Works is appealing to motorists not to not drink and drive during the upcoming #PayDayBlues weekend, not to speed, and to ensure that all occupants are buckled in at all times. Most road crash fatalities are pedestrians. If you walk along a road, wear high-visibility clothing and carry a torch at night. Do not use your cell phone while walking or driving. Road use and alcohol don’t mix, whether you are a driver or a pedestrian.

A 2015 study by the Institute for Security Studies showed that on an average weekend, 12 people died in road crashes. On payday weekends, the average went up to 19. The roads will be even busier than usual because Monday 2 May is a public holiday. Many drivers will be in a rush to get to their destinations, which raises the level of potential danger.

The First Kiss is a major Western Cape Government Safely Home seatbelt awareness campaign that is currently being flighted on television and in cinemas, with support from social media and public billboards.  Baseline road fatality data was collected before the campaign began, and the impact of the campaign on reducing road deaths is currently being measured. We will repeat the analysis in October and through the annual Safely Home Attitudinal Survey , which began last year.

We expect all road users to play their part by practising good road safety habits at all times. We will play our part by ensuring that traffic law enforcement is on high alert. Please be alert, be considerate, and be especially careful around vulnerable road users – children, older people, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Follow Safely Home on Twitter @WCGovSafelyHome under the hashtag #BeTheChange.