Overberg District Safety Plan shows promising results as road deaths plummet

Evidence-based planning cited as key to successful first quarter of implementation

The Department of Transport and Public Works’ District Safety Plan pilot is showing promising results in its first three months of operation. The District Safety Plan is a partnership which combines national, provincial and local government law enforcement, education and engineering resources into a single integrated plan.

The pilot District Safety Plan was launched on 1 October 2016 in the Overberg municipalities of Cape Agulhas, Theewaterskloof and Overstrand. The plan includes quarterly targets for road fatalities, with specific targets for the top priority categories of pedestrians and children. The results for Quarter 3: 2016/17, as compared to the targets set, and Quarter 3: 2015/16 were as follows:

The District Safety Plan was designed in response to a detailed evaluation of the operational area, taking into account all socio-economic factors and government resources, as well as the road environment itself. The planning framework was built on the mission analysis, orders process and intelligence preparation techniques used by modern militaries, in conjunction with global best road safety practice and leveraging local knowledge.

The Plan integrates law enforcement and education efforts with mass marketing, and encompasses the full range of resources in the operational area, including the SAPS, Provincial Traffic Services and the three Municipal Traffic Services. Danny Cat, the provincial road safety mascot, has been prominent in this initial success. This is notable as no children were killed during the quarter, despite the busy festive season. A radio campaign featuring local traffic chiefs has been on-going in the area, as well as activities linked to Safely Home’s #BoozeFreeRoads Ubuthakathi campaign (see safelyhome.westerncape.gov.za).

The plan, including Quarter 3 operational plans, and the evaluation, can be downloaded from the Safely Home website here: http://tinyurl.com/nj79vcm

The Department is cautiously optimistic about the results and has commenced planning to roll out the District Safety Plan concept across the province based on Quarter 4 2016/17 results.