Minister calls for action on road safety
The first national Road Safety Summit was held at the Birchwood Hotel and Conference Centre as part of celebrating Transport Month on October 4.
Held under the theme “working together we can do more”, the Minister of Transport, Dipuo Peters, chose to remember those who had lost their lives on the road in 2013.
“The major accidents witnessed this year alone are a stark reminder of the need to form partnerships to address road carnage,” she said.
She made references to some of the most gruesome cases that had been reported in the media, but also said that they did not make up all the accidents that had claimed the many lives of South African citizens.
“Research indicates that at least R306-bn is lost to the South African economy annually as a result of road crashes.
“The Road Accident Fund alone pays out at least R15-bn to victims of road crashes each year, and of this amount, R1-bn is for continued medical support to those who sustain injuries,” she explained.
Peters said it is important that the cost of road crashes to the economy and society, in general, be thoroughly assessed and fully comprehended.
“This Road Safety Summit comes as a watershed moment for all stakeholders to participate through listening, learning and collectively strategising on how best can we address the carnage on our roads, notwithstanding various programmes and interventions that have been and are currently implemented,” she said.
“There is work being done in championing road safety, but we need to redouble our efforts in making road safety everyone’s responsibility throughout the year.”
