The Democratic Alliance believes the cancellation of the national Arrive Alive campaign contributed to the increase in the number of road accidents and deaths over the festive season.
It described the scrapping of the programme as “irresponsible”.
The number of fatal crashes increased by 11% to 1‚387 from the previous year and road deaths increased by 14% to 1‚755 over the same period.
“The DA will hold the Minister of Transport‚ Dipuo Peters‚ accountable. Minister Peters will have to answer to Parliament as to why road deaths have increased and why the replacement of the road safety campaign has been non-existent‚” said DA spokesman on transport matters
Manny de Freitas.
He noted that the Arrive Alive campaign had apparently been replaced by an alternative campaign‚ “yet there was absolutely no information‚ detail or presence for this campaign”.
He added that the continued high fatality and crash rate on the country’s roads was “a clear and unambiguous indicator” that a properly coordinated and holistic road safety programme needed to be introduced.
Internationally‚ such programmes had proven to reduce road deaths‚ De Freitas said.
“Our country has the highest rate of alcohol-related road deaths in the world and is one of the worst in road law-enforcement. It was therefore absolutely irresponsible to not have a properly structured road safety campaign.
“Unfortunately it is the people of South Africa who have to deal with the consequences of cancelling this campaign in the form of more deaths on our roads and more families decimated by the impact of these deaths‚” De Freitas added.
DA wants to know why Arrive Alive campaign cancelled
It described the scrapping of the programme as “irresponsible”.
The number of fatal crashes increased by 11% to 1‚387 from the previous year and road deaths increased by 14% to 1‚755 over the same period.
“The DA will hold the Minister of Transport‚ Dipuo Peters‚ accountable. Minister Peters will have to answer to Parliament as to why road deaths have increased and why the replacement of the road safety campaign has been non-existent‚” said DA spokesman on transport matters
Manny de Freitas.
He noted that the Arrive Alive campaign had apparently been replaced by an alternative campaign‚ “yet there was absolutely no information‚ detail or presence for this campaign”.
He added that the continued high fatality and crash rate on the country’s roads was “a clear and unambiguous indicator” that a properly coordinated and holistic road safety programme needed to be introduced.
Internationally‚ such programmes had proven to reduce road deaths‚ De Freitas said.
“Our country has the highest rate of alcohol-related road deaths in the world and is one of the worst in road law-enforcement. It was therefore absolutely irresponsible to not have a properly structured road safety campaign.
“Unfortunately it is the people of South Africa who have to deal with the consequences of cancelling this campaign in the form of more deaths on our roads and more families decimated by the impact of these deaths‚” De Freitas added.
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