Our
thanks and appreciation is extended to members for permitting the Automobile
Association to present to the committee.
As
we all know, road safety in South Africa, and Africa as a whole, is something
that does not particularly enjoy any committed support from either civic
society or political platforms. Neither
does it enjoy any real standing on the list of priorities when it comes to
public health and safety.
Despite
the warnings substantiated by international experience and research, South
Africa, because of its status as an developing nation, will inevitably be faced
with a spiralling increase in road related injuries and fatalities for many
years to come. The increase in vehicle
ownership combined with a rapidly deteriorating road infrastructure and vehicle
roadworthy standards will significantly contribute to the sustained high
fatality and injury costs borne by the South African economy.
It
is for this reason that we wish to place on record our concern that road safety
in South Africa is not enjoying the focus it deserves.
It
is an indictment on government when the number of people killed on our roads –
mostly preventable, rivals the number of persons murdered in the same year and
by all predictions, the road fatality rate is going to get worse.
Can
the economy continue to absorb R40 billion per year together with the
concomitant loss of valuable human capital? We would urge members to tally the
cost to the economy over the past five years of what is in essence, preventable
expenditure.
The
Automobile Association would therefore respectfully propose the following
topics be discussed and considered for action.
1.
Network of Employers for Traffic Safety
Examine the feasibility of
introducing compulsory reporting of safety standards employed by private sector
as per equity requirements / OHS Act.
Investigate the feasibility of
establishing a compulsory involvement of private sector regarding road safety
policy.
This could be structured along the
lines of Equity Reports returned on an annual basis for companies employing
more than 20 persons. The intention
would be to focus the impact of safety issues, particularly road safety, on the
financial results of commercial enterprises.
2.
Union / Civic organisations
Mobilisation of members for safe
transportation together with the adoption and implementation of the
Passenger Charter of the Department of Transport.
3.
Legislation
Compulsory Day-time Running Lights
(DRL) for public vehicles.
The implementation of
compulsory DRL for all vehicles where a PrDP is required.
Our motivation is as follows:
a)
Motorcycles have to display their headlights due mainly because of the
inherent danger to the operator and to make the vehicle visible to other road
users;
b)
All vehicles over 3500kg have speed restrictions placed on them, as do
minibus taxis. If these vehicles were
compelled to use DRL’s other road users would be able to recognise these
vehicles and understand that there may be a speed differential to other road
users resulting in a potential conflict situation developing;
c)
From an enforcement point of view, it would be easy to spot defective
lamps during daylight hours and be able to afford the driver time to affect
repairs before dark. Research has shown
that at least 10% of vehicles on our roads have defective lights and this
measure could reduce that percentage significantly.
Vehicles
to be equipped with certain lamps and times when certain lamps to be lighted.
1.
No
person shall operate on a public road a motor vehicle unless –
a)
……..
b)
……..
2. No person shall operate on a public road a motor cycle, a motor
cycle with side car, a motor tricycle or motor quadrucycle, a bus,
midibus or minibus operating in terms of an operating licence issued in
accordance with the provisions of the NLTTA or a goods vehicle over 3500kg,
unless the headlamp or headlamps of such vehicle is lighted at all times:..
Rear underrun protection device
Fitment of underrun protection on
front engined buses which typically have an unsafe rear bumper in that the
bumper is too high. Currently limited
to goods vehicles and trailers more than 12 000kg.
Include the following wording… “an
underrun protection device shall be fitted to the rear of all buses with a Tare
exceeding 8 000kg where the lower edge of the rear bumper is more than 450mm
from ground level”
Other
legislative issues
·
Periodic Testing (6 months) of all public vehicles for roadworthiness.
·
Review SANS 047, etc.
·
Implementation of provisional drivers licence after passing practical
K53 driver test for 18 months prior to issue of unrestricted drivers licence.
·
PrDP evaluations. It is suggested that prior to a PrDP being issued, a
driving evaluation be performed and certified for the class of vehicle being
applied for. This should be done on
renewal as a matter of course.
4.
Arrive Alive
Clarity on continued functions and
reporting structures DoT / RTMC
The AA is concerned that due to the
restructuring of the DoT, the strength of the Arrive Alive brand, which has
been built up over the past 6 years, will be diluted.
5.
Statistics
Accurate crash data needs to be collated annually in
order to evaluate the status of road safety in South Africa. Need for pressure to be
brought to bear on DOT to provide acceptable, accurate data. (Crash, offence
monitoring, etc.)
Interoperability and compatibility
of systems currently in use need to be investigated especially with eNatis due
to become operational.
6.
International Road Safety
UN Road Safety Collaboration
Robertson report
Clarification on AU resolution
International Road Assessment
Programme
7.
Road Safety Projects
Fragmentation and duplication of
efforts
Provincial initiatives
Govt. department road safety policy –
cabinet driven (responsible person)
8.
Closure of research institutions
CSIR
Transportek
UNIARC
CENETS
9.
RAF
Current situation – future amendment
changes and published regulations
10.
RTMC
Appointment of CEO and Board
11.
AARTO
Funding
Legislative amendments regarding
RTIA / RTMC
12.
Taxi Recap – progress / status
13.
Rossburg D/L system
14.
Future of RTSS
Functions of the Road Safety Board –
relevance.
15.
Road Safety Forum
Road Safety forums
should be held at least twice a year, not only to identify road safety issues,
but also to evaluate the success of current projects. This forum would be the best mechanism to interact with the
various government departments on an ongoing basis. Workshops to educate and brief stakeholders would ideally be launched
from this platform.
16.
AA Foundation
Briefing on establishment and aims
of the Foundation
17.
Recommendations of AA safety plan
18.
AA Strategy - Attached document
In South Africa, road safety
responsibility is primarily driven by Government at three levels, i.e.:
national, provincial and local. Although the lead “agency” in this regard is
the national department of transport through the ministry and the Arrive Alive
program, each province has a similar strategy based on the national guidelines
(The Road to Safety Strategy 2001 – 2005) and this is where many of the
problems occur.
Although
the overriding strategy is centrally based, fragmentation of the strategy has
occurred through a number of interventions and factors, these being a lack of
resource, political will and quite often a lack of understanding of the
specific campaign and its intended outcomes.
South
Africa is the leading developed country in sub-Saharan Africa and yet with the
combination of first world technology and infrastructure we have yet to come to
terms with killing 12 500 citizens and seriously injuring at least 40 000
people while more than 100 000 people sustain minor injuries annually. (These statistics are estimates, as reliable
crash data was last published in 1998).
Yet, our single most vulnerable road user, the pedestrian, accounts for
almost 40% of all fatalities every year.
This trend has been established
over the last ten years and yet, very little has been done to try and reverse
it.
Mobility
in South African society is growing extremely rapidly. New vehicle sales this year alone has led to
an increase of 617 000 vehicles to our car parc which as at December 2005 was
7.4 million registered vehicles.
While we
recognize that funding for road safety will remain fairly low on Governments’
list of priorities, especially in view of the serious socio-economic problems
facing the country such as HIV/ Aids and poverty alleviation, the funding which
is allocated is not being spent judiciously. On a national level, the Road
Accident Fund has, over the past five years, contributed R250 million alone to
Arrive Alive projects with very little to show for its investment. This, over and above the Department of Transport’s
own road safety budget.
At the
heart of the problem lie the issues of education and enforcement.
Continued road safety education in our schools and workplace is not happening. There is no synergy between government departments such as Transport, Education, Health and Justice to address the problem, or find solutions, tenuous they may be. Interventions emanating from all departments will have a positive outcome on the road safety situation in South Africa as the information shared will be reinforced through departmental competencies.
Traffic
law enforcement is in a state of flux in the country. Essentially traffic law enforcement comprises of four distinct
entities – provincial traffic inspectorates, metropolitan police, municipal
traffic police and the South African Police Services (SAPS) to a lesser degree.
Road
engineers who have limited understanding of traffic law enforcement are
managing many provincial traffic inspectorates. Metropolitan police see
themselves as crime fighters rather than traffic law enforcers and as a result,
compliance with traffic legislation
in the cities is fast declining. Campaigns
against drunk drivers for instance, have little chance of success without
active enforcement.
Compounding
the problem is the issue of corruption, unfortunately endemic at all levels of
law enforcement.
Traffic safety specialists are in agreement that in order to curb the high number of injuries and deaths on South African roads, there should be a focus on four things – seatbelt usage, drivers and pedestrian alcohol and substance abuse and unroadworthy vehicles combined with effective visible policing of moving traffic violations. At face value this seems simple enough to achieve.
International
studies have shown a definite correlation between injury severity and seatbelt
usage. The higher the seatbelt wearing
rate, the lower the severity of injury.
Combined with airbags, the seatbelt becomes a very necessary safety
component of a motor vehicle and does save lives.
Legislation
introduced in 1995 made it compulsory for both front and rear occupants of
passenger vehicles to wear the seatbelt provided, yet, less than 10% of rear
seat occupants comply. The wearing rate
for front seat occupants is less than 50%.
Experience
has shown that a dramatic increase in the wearing rate of seatbelts is
achievable in a very short space of time (weeks rather than months) through a
combination of an information campaign and strict law enforcement. The positive effects can be measured months
after the campaign and sporadic seatbelt law enforcement serves to extend the
higher wearing rate – thus saving countless lives. (AA Seatbelt Study)
At issue is the safety of
unrestrained children in passenger vehicles.
Currently SA law only makes provision for child restraints if they are
fitted in the vehicle. Perhaps we
should be looking at the provision of motor manufacturers / dealers to
automatically supply a new child restraint when a vehicle is purchased whether
required or not. In this manner affordable child restraints would enter the
market and more children would be saved from injury and death.
Studies
have established that of the 40% of pedestrians killed on SA roads, about 70%
tested positive for alcohol or drugs or both, and, had they been driving, more
than half would have exceeded the 0.05 legal limit. (MRC Injury Morbidity
Surveillance Study 2004)
Most
pedestrian fatalities occur during periods of low light and generally are seen
by motorists at the last minute when avoiding them is almost impossible. For this reason alone more emphasis needs to
be placed on retro-reflective material to be used in everyday clothing. Many well known brands of cross trainers and
running shoes have reflective strips incorporated into the shoe design making
the wearer visible from a reasonable distance.
The
National Department of Transport (NDoT) through its Offence Monitoring report
of 2004 has established that after dark, 1:15 drivers are driving drunk. Despite this knowledge, traffic law
enforcement agencies have in the main not reacted to the extreme risks drunk
drivers pose to other road users.
Despite
knowing what the legal alcohol limit is, most drivers continue to drive drunk
knowing that the risk of detection is minimal.
These perceptions need to be changed urgently and this can only be
achieved through intensive law enforcement. (AA Alcohol Study)
The real challenge however, is
educating pedestrians about the risks of walking drunk and changing their
behaviour.
Drugged drivers in South Africa can
generally escape detection as there is only one person in the country who is
qualified as a Drug Recognition Expert.
In 1998, it was mooted that the Drug Recognition Program (DRP) based on
the Los Angeles Police Department model be introduced in South Africa. Despite the obvious advantages to law
enforcement officers and the subsequent curtailment of the drug problem on our
roads, this project has yet to be introduced in SA.
In surveys undertaken by the CSIR
during 2004, it was found that 1:4 truck drivers, who voluntarily took part in
the study, regularly used alcohol and / or drugs, or both, while driving
vehicles up to 56 000 kilograms.
Most
people associate unroadworthy vehicles with mini-bus taxis. The recapitalisation program of NDoT will
over time address the issue of unsafe mass passenger carriers.
While
it is true to state that improved mobility brings prosperity, there are
literally thousands of patently unroadworthy and extremely dangerous vehicles
in daily use in the rural areas of the country. Most of these vehicles are used on rural roads transporting
people and goods to outlying towns and villages and serve a desperate need in
their communities. Wherever possible,
the recapitalisation program should be extended to include this sector of
transport on a proven needs basis.
With the banning of leaded fuel in
January 2006, an opportunity exists to introduce periodic vehicle checks. This would be in line with the requirements
of the Clean Air Bill, still to be enacted by parliament, where vehicle
emissions need to be controlled.
By
verifying that all registered vehicles comply with the emissions standards, a
safety examination at the same time could be made compulsory. This would raise the standard of vehicle
safety very quickly.
Visible
policing of moving offences has shown to have a marked effect on compliance
with traffic legislation – which in turn supports a reduction in the incidence
of road related injury and / or death.
Because
of the fragmentation of South African traffic law enforcement agencies, a
dilution of effort was inevitable. For
example, Metropolitan police are loath to perform traffic control duties while
the SAPS would rather be actively investigating crime rather than traffic
accidents.
In order to effectively engage the
various agencies, co-operation agreements need to be in place which would focus
on the desired outcomes of any road safety project which involves traffic law
enforcement.
There
is a need to change the perception of the motorist that all traffic officers
are bribeable. Coupled to this, there
has to be a greater degree of professionalism displayed by law enforcers
themselves.
While there are plans to restructure
the traffic law enforcement agencies into two distinct entities (Metro Police
to be integrated into SAPS while provincial traffic inspectorates and municipal
traffic police to be combined to form a National Traffic inspectorate), it
would be prudent to involve all law enforcement Heads of Department – SAPS
included – where applicable, in any campaign or project.
25
000 road fatalities during the past two years alone – clearly road safety in
South Africa has long passed crisis point.
Government
has been blamed in many quarters for failing to deliver on its promises of a
substantial reduction in road related injuries and deaths through the RTSS 2001
– 2005 framework. While it must be said
that the fault, in most instances, can be found at the door of the road user –
we as citizens of the country need to be more responsible in our attitude
towards our own safety. It is in this
context that private sector involvement needs to be motivated as speedily as
possible.
The
growing number of vehicles on our roads is a clear indication of a society fast
becoming reliant on personal vehicle use.
Estimates show that by 2010 our vehicle parc could exceed 9 million
registered vehicles and should nothing be done on the safety front, our
fatality rate could rise exponentially.
The
developing world experience must be borne in mind - campaigns or projects must
be simple, sustainable and easily understood with clearly defined outcomes,
which should encourage stakeholder and community participation.
Gary Ronald
20 June 2006