Shongwe welcomes decrease in road fatalities in Mpumalanga

Shongwe welcomes decrease in road fatalities in Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe has welcomed preliminary reports that suggest that fatalities have decreased by approximately 9 percent compared to the same period last year.

The preliminary report indicates that between 1 December 2014 and 4 January 2015, the province had recorded 103 fatalities while during the same period last year 114 people lost their lives. This year 628 crashes were recorded while 625 crashes were reported last year.

For the same period last year 449 people sustained serious injuries compared to this year’s 464 and this represents an increase of 3, 23 percent. Reports further indicated that most crashes were recorded in Ehlanzeni and Gert Sibande regions.

Shongwe has lauded law enforcement officers and other stakeholders for the role that they have played in enhancing road safety. The MEC has however decried the numbers saying one death is too many and has appealed to road users to assist government to eliminate road crashes and save lives.

The MEC has also thanked all road users who heeded government’s call to be considerate while driving saying that behavior has contributed towards reducing fatalities. He said that if more people hear the messages on road safety, more lives will be saved because there will be fewer road crashes.

“Although the number of fatalities is slightly less compared to last year for the same period, indications are that we still have a lot of work to do to improve road safety in our province. We are looking forward to the time when we will have no statistics to report but that can only happen if we all resolve to use the road with extreme vigilance and are obeying all traffic rules,” he said.

He said most of the crashes could have been avoided had extra care being taken as some are attributable to drunk driving, dangerous overtaking, excessive speeding and general failure to comply with traffic rules and regulations. 

He has therefore urged the Justice Crime Prevention and Security (JCPS) to ensure that cases of those who have been arrested for various offences are thoroughly investigated. He has subsequently called on the cluster to mete out maximum permissible sentences on guilty verdicts in order to send a stern warning that the government can no longer tolerate unsafe road usage.

The MEC has called on law enforcement officers to continue with the same vigour and clamp down on any infringement as roads are expected to become even busier due to schools opening next week. He said that law enforcement visibility will be heightened during this period to deal with any incidences.