IRRESPONSIBLE driving coupled with unroadworthy vehicles, bad road maintenance and poor policing on our roads are the sources of horrible accidents that leave many dead.
Since the start of December, which is a holiday month, hardly a week passes by without a fatal motor vehicle accident on our roads.
Last weekend, 30 people including children were killed in an overloaded taxi accident on the N3 freeway near Harrismith. The collision was between a taxi and a truck and about seven people were admitted in hospital.
This horrific accident happened soon after 18 people were killed in a similar accident in the Eastern Cape.
Why should this be? Are we an irresponsible nation? Should we put the blame on the government?
These accidents that leave scores of people dead or injured are mostly on long distance journeys. The short distance accidents are mostly caused by drunk driving, pedestrians crossing roads where they are not supposed to, or use of cellphones while driving.
It is common knowledge that at this time of the year and during the Easter period people travel from one city to another by buses or taxis.
Our roads remain badly maintained and the government has failed on many fronts in building and maintaining them.
There is also poor policing on our roads hence drivers are able to overload passengers and continue to drive unroadworthy vehicles.
Recently Arrive Alive, which advocates safety on our roads, reported that South Africa is well-known for its poor road statistics and that thousands of unnecessary deaths occur on our roads on an annual basis.
It says this figure spikes during the months of December and January.
However, it is up to each one of us to try and curb the increasing road accident statistics.
The government cannot do it alone - commuters, public transport owners together with drivers and pedestrians have a responsibility to ensure our roads are safe.
Commuters have the responsibility to refuse to be transported in an overloaded vehicle.
They also should refuse to be driven by a tired driver or be in an unroadworthy car.
If commuters can take responsibility, that will force public transport owners not to short change them. This also will put pressure on the government to repair the roads and provide a better public transport system.
Road safety in our hands
IRRESPONSIBLE driving coupled with unroadworthy vehicles, bad road maintenance and poor policing on our roads are the sources of horrible accidents that leave many dead.
Since the start of December, which is a holiday month, hardly a week passes by without a fatal motor vehicle accident on our roads.
Last weekend, 30 people including children were killed in an overloaded taxi accident on the N3 freeway near Harrismith. The collision was between a taxi and a truck and about seven people were admitted in hospital.
This horrific accident happened soon after 18 people were killed in a similar accident in the Eastern Cape.
Why should this be? Are we an irresponsible nation? Should we put the blame on the government?
These accidents that leave scores of people dead or injured are mostly on long distance journeys. The short distance accidents are mostly caused by drunk driving, pedestrians crossing roads where they are not supposed to, or use of cellphones while driving.
It is common knowledge that at this time of the year and during the Easter period people travel from one city to another by buses or taxis.
Our roads remain badly maintained and the government has failed on many fronts in building and maintaining them.
There is also poor policing on our roads hence drivers are able to overload passengers and continue to drive unroadworthy vehicles.
Recently Arrive Alive, which advocates safety on our roads, reported that South Africa is well-known for its poor road statistics and that thousands of unnecessary deaths occur on our roads on an annual basis.
It says this figure spikes during the months of December and January.
However, it is up to each one of us to try and curb the increasing road accident statistics.
The government cannot do it alone - commuters, public transport owners together with drivers and pedestrians have a responsibility to ensure our roads are safe.
Commuters have the responsibility to refuse to be transported in an overloaded vehicle.
They also should refuse to be driven by a tired driver or be in an unroadworthy car.
If commuters can take responsibility, that will force public transport owners not to short change them. This also will put pressure on the government to repair the roads and provide a better public transport system.
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