Focus on safety on the roads

Road safety is the heart of Transport Month this year. Campaigns are aimed at behaviour change among road users, to change public consciousness on the issue.
A THREE-MAN mascot with the catchy name of Zula will visit Joburg taxi ranks, malls and schools to teach road safety during Transport Month. The mascot was introduced at the official launch of the month on 4 October at the bustling Park Station in downtown Joburg.

MEC Ismail VadiMEC Ismail Vadi: There is much to be done to make our roads safeTransport Month is an annual campaign, held each October nationwide, aimed at encouraging commuters to be safe on the country’s roads. This year’s theme is “Towards an integrated, safe public transport that reduces road fatalities”.

Introducing Zula, the Gauteng MEC for roads and transport, Ismail Vadi said the mascot was part of the Zula Out and About Safely campaign.

He said in light of the number of deaths on the country’s roads, much more needed to be done to make the roads safer. “Even as we desire to change public consciousness on this issue, we recognise that the greater use of public transport also contributes to a safer and cleaner environment.

“The Gauteng department of roads and transport is rolling out the programmes and plans to engage with residents on issues of road safety, public transport and infrastructure during this year’s October Transport Month,” he said.

Safely campaign
“I realise that some people wilfully ignore politicians when they speak. That’s why I’ve got Mr Zula, our mascot for this campaign. The Zula safely campaign will be taken to institutions of higher learning; various intermodal transport facilities, including taxi ranks; and schools. You will see it on billboards, on taxis and buses, and at the airport; and hear about it on radio and TV. The idea is that road safety must become everyone’s interest and responsibility,” he explained.

The campaign is targeted primarily at young adults and other road users with the aim of engaging them on issues such as road safety, and the state and the use of public transportation. Its main objective is to engage with road users, spread the safety message and allow people to adopt a culture of road safety.

Vadi added: “The two principal messages in our campaign are: firstly, to promote road safety; and secondly, to promote the use of public transport as a mode of choice in Gauteng.

The campaign involvesThe campaign involves educating people to concentrate on the road whilst driving“Our programmes and activities are designed to interact and have a conversation with our people on issues of road safety, public transport and infrastructure development during this month.”

Behaviour
It was a broad-based campaign aimed directly at the vast majority of residents to effectively change their behaviour so that succeeding generations could grow up in a safer environment, he said.

In terms of the road safety component of the campaign, he added, the slogans were simple and straight-forward. Often crashes and accidents happen because of road users’ indiscretions – texting and speaking on a cellphone while driving; jaywalking; falling asleep at the steering wheel; getting a fake driving licence; speeding; and, being drunk either as pedestrian or as a motorist.

“Call it the six deadly sins if you like, be we must confront the harsh reality that these behavioural patterns are harmful to our country and its people. Hence, our posters and billboards say: It started with one sms; it started with jaywalking; it started with falling asleep; it started with a fake licence; it started with a need for speed; and it started with one drink.”

He mentioned that the provincial government, together with municipalities, was investing heavily in public transport infrastructure in its quest to improve the state of the sector.

The Gautrain served as a benchmark for public transport and the high ridership had demonstrated the public’s willingness to use public transport.

Rea Vaya
“It is apparent that the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit system has changed the face of spatial orientation in the city, linking parts of the city never connected before,” he said.

“It now transports 40 000 passengers a day on the main trunk route between Soweto and the city. “I am confident that the features of an integrated public transport system are gradually and systematically taking shape in Gauteng, and that we will see the greater impact of this over the next three years.”

In rolling out this campaign, the Gauteng department of roads and transport and its counterparts in community safety, would hold a number of roadblocks throughout the province, with law-enforcement as an objective.

“We aim to stop 250 000 vehicles every month in Gauteng and this campaign will extend over the entire festive season. We will be focusing on drunken drivers, we will insist that all passengers – in the front and the back seats – wear seatbelts, we will be checking on the roadworthiness of vehicles, and we will be looking out for fraudulent licences,” he said.

Transport Month was launched nationally on 22 September by Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele, who said it was an annual opportunity to focus the attention of the country on issues of transport. Transport was a means to move goods and people from one point to another in a safe, efficient, affordable and sustainable manner, he explained.

Job creation
“October Transport Month this year focuses on job creation and service delivery. In the 2011/12 financial year, 68 675 jobs will be created through S’hamba Sonke.

“This ring-fenced conditional grant will focus on the following areas: fixing potholes on our roads, creating access to schools and clinics and other public facilities, the rehabilitation of key arterial routes that support the rural economy through labour intensive projects, and prioritising the use of labour absorptive systems, including a know your network programme.”

Ndebele added that the passenger rail industry continued to face challenges, one of which was the reliability and availability of infrastructure. “The Department of Transport through the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) is investing large amounts of money to address these problems. The focus of optimising asset value is on the investment in infrastructure assets based on the Rail Plan priorities and the Priority Rail Corridor strategy as approved by Cabinet in 2006.”

He explained that strategy focused rail industry resources on those corridors or routes where rail had a clear comparative advantage. “A significant proportion of the existing rolling stock is due for de-commissioning between 2013 and 2015.

“Prasa will spend R97-billion over 18 years on the purchasing of new rolling stock. This programme will create an estimated 100 000 jobs and develop skilled and semi-skilled personnel in respective areas.”

Furthermore, road safety would be highlighted during the month, with a focus on finding common solutions to the harrowing deaths that occurred ever so frequently on our roads. Approximately 14 000 people are killed on South African roads each year, 1 000 every month, 250 a week and 40 every day, costing at least R60-billion a year.