23 people were killed in road accidents in the Western Cape over the weekend between Friday and Sunday.
Of the 23 lives claimed by the accidents, 14 were passengers, four were drivers, and five were pedestrians. The figure includes the 10 construction workers who were killed on Saturday when the bakkie they were travelling in overturned on Ou Kaapseweg in the Western Cape.
Last Friday, a woman died in a crash on the R27 along the West Coast.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has said efforts to ensure that traffic policing was a 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week activity were under way.
“We are engaging with all traffic authorities in the country and traffic officers through relevant channels to ensure that the implementation of this intervention does not negatively affect conditions of service of our officers. We must all appreciate that safety on our roads is a collective responsibility,” he said.
Mbalula has urged motorists to abide by the laws of the road as several arrests had been made nationally for offences including driving while under the influence of alcohol.
“The Department of Transport has taken tangible steps towards curbing the carnage. The roll-out of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) is not just about a more efficient way of adjudicating road traffic offences, but also about creating effective incentives to change road user behaviour,” said Mbalula.
Provincial traffic officials who were busy since Friday and arrested 17 drunk drivers, with one driver five times over the legal limit.
This while the City’s traffic officials arrested 47 intoxicated motorists and issued 1486 fines for various other offences.
Safety and Security mayco member JP Smith is reported to have said efforts will be increased to ensure that motorists abide by the laws of the road to make it safer, and to bring those who transgress to book.
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