Gauteng roads are not safe at night

16 October 2019

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is concerned that there are no Gauteng Traffic Police to monitor and ensure the safety of motorists on Gauteng roads during the night.

This was revealed to me by the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety, Faith Mazibuko while responding to my oral questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

The Gauteng Traffic Police do not work night shift but only work up to 22h00.

The Gauteng Traffic Police shifts are as follows; 06h00 to 14h00 and 14h00 to 22h00. The High-Speed Unit shift is from 09h00 to 17h00 and 14h00 to 22h00, the Saturation Unit shift starts from 10h00 to 18h00 and 04h00 to 12h00 and the Gauteng Freeway Patrol Unit starts at 06h00 to 14h00 and 10h00 to 18h00.

The ongoing labour dispute between the union and the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is delaying the process of declaring the Gauteng Traffic Police an essential service.

By declaring Gauteng Traffic Police an essential service, it means that they will be able to provide 24-hour road safety services to the citizens of Gauteng.

In most instances, accidents and incidents of crime happens during the night and there is a need for 24-hour monitoring of Gauteng freeways.

Declaring the Gauteng Traffic Police an essential service will reduce the excessive expenditure on overtime, improve working conditions and increase benefits for the traffic police. This will also have a positive impact on reducing crime and increasing road safety.

We call on MEC Mazibuko to prioritise road user’s safety by intervening in order to speed up the process of resolving this labour dispute.

Issued by John Moodey, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety, 16 October 2019