Late on Friday night the Ministers joined traffic officials at the campaign's first roadblock on the N1 outside Laingsburg to monitor driver fatigue, whilst also focusing on traffic law enforcement. (See photo attached. Additional photos available on request).
The check point was set up from 6pm to 2am on the N1 between Beaufort West and Cape Town, a road which carries an average of forty thousand (40 000) trucks, twenty thousand (20 000) light motor vehicles and ten thousand (10 000) public transport vehicles per month.
Two (2) privately owned buses were grounded after it was found that the one bus driver did not have an operators licence and the other did not have the correct licence for the bus he was driving. A driver was arrested for drunk driving and fifty eight (58) fines were issued during the night.
A total of two hundred and eighty six (286) vehicles were stopped and forty nine (49) drivers were screened for alcohol.
The MECs also heard first hand accounts from traffic officials and drivers about the effects of fatigue and handed out pamphlets and bottled water to drivers.
During June and July provincial and local traffic authorities will set up similar roadblocks across the Western Cape to screen drivers for fatigue and to promote awareness of the risks involved.
Minister Max said the province's Safely Home strategy identifies driver fatigue as one of the main areas of driver behaviour that needs to be addressed in order to reach the 2014 target of halving road deaths in the province.
"Provincial government has many combined efforts in place to ensure road safety and this is another essential component. In terms of law enforcement driver fatigue is very hard to manage and that's why we need the public to be constantly made aware of the signs and the prevention measures so to take responsibility when they get behind the wheel," said MEC Max.
Minister Carlisle highlighted that driver fatigue must be acknowledged as a real and unacceptable safety risk.
"The biggest mistake many drivers make is not to rest when they are tired, especially when driving long distances, but to rather continue driving thinking they are fit to drive when they are not. Many truck and public transport drivers are not aware of the dangers of fatigue. We want to alert them to these dangers in order to save lives on our roads." said Minister Carlisle.
Signs of driver fatigue:
Key prevention measures:
Joint statement by:
Adv. Lennit Max
Minister of Community Safety
Robin Carlisle
Minister of Transport
Jo Lennox
Media Liaison Officer/Spokesperson
Ministry of Community Safety
Cell: 082 780 0242
Email: jlennox@pgwc.gov.za
Solly Malatsi
Media Liaison Officer
Ministry of Transport and Public Works
Cell: 083 641 9691
Email: smalatsi@pgwc.gov.za
X P Wentzel
Media Liaison officer
Law Enforcement Co-ordinator
Department of Community Safety
Cell: 082 820 0621