DA shocked and saddened by 111% increase in KZN Easter road fatalities

24 April 2017

THE Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal is both shocked and saddened by the 111% increase in Easter road fatalities in the province, which saw a total of 59 people killed. KZN’s tragic death-toll was second only to the Northern Cape, which recorded an increase of 175% in fatalities.

It is clear that efforts by KZN’s Department of Transport (DoT) to reduce the carnage on our roads are not working. The fact that it cannot fulfill its core mandate, to provide a safe road network, as a result of budgetary constraints means that it must rethink its approach.

One of the recommendations made by the DA before – and which we now reiterate – is for road safety awareness campaigns to be included at schools. Our young people are a captive audience and must become educated around the importance of adhering to the rules of the road.

Driver behaviour also continues to play a major contributing role in the number of fatalities and while there are those who simply do not care about the safety of others, there are those who remain ignorant about the rules of the road. They, too, need to be educated properly through awareness campaigns.

The situation in KZN is further compounded by a provincial Road Traffic Inspectorate which is understaffed – even when it comes to critical posts - and under-resourced. This has to change in order to allow for effective and visible policing, as well as stricter penalties for those who continue to defy the law.

In this respect, the DA expects KZN Transport MEC, Mxolisi Kaunda to put pressure on his national counterparts to ensure that negotiations with the Department of Justice are finalised – a move which will see drunk driving reclassified as a more serious offence.

The DA will not sit by as KZN’s death toll rises year upon year. We are committed to holding the MEC and his department to their mandate and to offering credible solutions in order to save lives.

Issued by Rafeek Shah, DA KZN Spokesperson on Transport, 24 April 2017