The South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) is maintaining a prominent role in road safety education and awareness as it engages motorists in various municipalities across the Eastern Cape.
SANRAL hosted a road safety awareness campaign on Friday 17 May, at the KwaNonesi Mall in Komani in the Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality, where it targeted all road users, including motorists, passengers and pedestrians.
“Road safety is a national priority and SANRAL has a clearly defined role to provide both safe roads and infrastructure. But our role does not end there. Road safety is a strategic pillar that underpins our organisational strategy,” said Michelle Ah Shene, SANRAL’s Regional Marketing and Communications Coordinator.
“Our efforts are geared at improving road user attitude and behaviour, as well as to engage communities in road safety awareness,” she added.
Under the banner of ‘Road Safety Starts with You’, SANRAL’s campaign emphasises personal responsibility on the roads. Messages such as ‘One look before you cross or overtake, ‘One rest can save your life’ and ‘One call can end it all’ underscore the effort required to mitigate road risks and to ensure safer journeys for all.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) 92% of the world’s road fatalities occur in low- and middle-income countries where more than half of all road traffic deaths are among vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.
Speaking at a Media Dialogue on the State of Road Safety in South Africa held on 15 May, Minister of Transport, Sindisiwe Chikunga, said research shows that Africa is the least motorised continent containing 2% of the global vehicle population but contributes 16% of the recorded global road fatalities.
“The top 20 hazardous roads in South Africa are our national roads. It is the N1, N3, R61, and the Moloto Road. All these roads are in a good condition. They are the best roads we have in South Africa, probably on the continent and they compare well with the roads that we have internationally. But that is where our accidents happen because of the way people drive,” said Chikunga.
The R61 between Komani and Cofimvaba is one such road that is frequented by road crashes due to factors including speeding, stray livestock, j-walking and reckless driving.
“We want to drive the message home that safer roads are a collective responsibility for all road users to play their part. We want to encourage safe behaviour among all road users, whether drivers, pedestrians and residents,” said Ah Shene.
A motorist from Komani, Nico Morwane, says patience on the road is key to safe driving and could save South Africa from the road carnage.
“You must be patient and always be aware of other motorists. Drivers tend to be in a hurry all the time and this affects their judgement. This results in serious crashes that could be avoided. Thanks to SANRAL for reminding us on how to behave on the roads.”
Young people took turns testing their driving skills on the racing simulators inside a tent.
“The simulator taught me that speeding can be dangerous on both straight roads and on bends,” said 15-year-old Lisakhanya Stengile as he tested his driving skill. “Keeping to the speed limit will take you home safely. As a pedestrian, the message I took from here is to be alert while walking along the road because some of them don’t have pavements.”
SANRAL publications containing information about road infrastructure projects, the tender process and transformation policy were distributed to motorists and pedestrians alike to drive the safety message home.
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