S. Africa government launches campaign to curb road carnages

The South African government on Sunday launched a campaign to cope with rising road carnages. The campaign is part of the government’s efforts to achieve a 50-percent reduction in road accidents by 2020. To achieve this goal, law enforcement officers and motorists must work together, Transport Minister Ben Martins said at the launch of the Festive Season Road Safety Campaign in Pretoria. The minister blamed “irresponsible human behavior” for most of road accidents in the country. The human factor accounted for 82.2 percent of deaths on the country’s roads during the 2010 and 2011 festive seasons, according to Martins. He listed the following major factors for most road accidents -- speeding, drunken driving, driver fatigue, unroadworthy vehicles and drunk pedestrians.This means law enforcement officers are not solely responsible for curbing accidents, but that road users themselves have to make a conscious decision not to break the law on the road, said Martins. He stressed the need to educate communities about road safety, while strengthening the role of law enforcement agencies. More emphasis should be placed on education, public awareness and compliance with the law, he said.During this year’s campaign, the government would work closely with, among others, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), the Road Accident Fund, the Cross Border Road Traffic Agency, and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency. Road carnage is a daily phenomenon, particularly during holidays in South Africa. In the estern Cape Province alone, at least 16 people have died in road accidents in the past four days, according to official figures.