Strategy to Reduce Road Accidents: briefing by Road Traffic Management Corporation

Meeting report

The Chairperson said the purpose of the meeting was to brief the Committee on the strategic plan developed by the Department of Transport (DoT) and the Road Transport Management Corporation (RTMC) to reduce road accidents in South Africa. An average of 14 000 people died on our roads each year, and the target was to halve this number by 2015. The Committee would need to determine if the human and financial resources deployed to achieve this objective were adequate, and whether there was a role for Parliament to assist in its achievement. There were many factors involved, such as the drivers themselves, the condition of the vehicles they were driving, and the road infrastructure. The task now was to identify the root causes and establish ways to deal with the human behaviour that was costing the country R40bn a year.

Mr Collins Letsoalo, Acting Chief Executive Officer (ACEO) of the RTMC, told the Committee that 13 852 people had died on the country’s roads last year – an average of 40 a day. The most common time for fatalities occurring was between 10 pm and 6 am, and poor human behaviour remained the largest contributor. The most dangerous period was between Thursday night and Sunday night, with Saturday nights claiming the highest number of fatalities.

Major contributing factors were speeding, distracted, reckless, negligent or inconsiderate driving, dangerous overtaking and vehicles with defective tyres, steering and brakes. During weekends, 65% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the abuse of alcohol by both drivers and pedestrians. A rise in the number of women who tested positive for alcohol had been noticed, with women representing 42% compared to 58% among men.

Road crashes involving pedestrians now accounted for 33% of fatalities, and statistics indicated that pedestrians of all ages were disregarding road rules at great personal risk. Jay-walking, walking on freeways, drunken pedestrians and pedestrians not visible at night, remained the biggest challenges. In winter, pedestrian fatalities increased because of the longer hours of darkness, and children on their way to and from school, and women going to work and back, were more vulnerable.

The most common types of fatal crashes were head-on collisions due to dangerous overtaking, head-on and rear-end collisions because of high speeds and poor following distances, collisions with pedestrians, especially at night, and vehicles overturning through lack of control at high or inappropriate speeds. The most vulnerable road users were men aged between 19 and 34, who made up 80% of fatalities, pedestrians in both urban and rural areas, young and inexperienced drivers, passengers in vehicles – particularly women, who were major users of public transport – and children, both as passengers and pedestrians.

Mr Letsoalo said a major challenge was to ensure road users “buckled up.” Only about 67% of front seat occupants used their seat belts on long journeys, and significantly less for short trips, while a mere 2% of rear seat passengers buckled up. Research indicated that if the seatbelt rate for front and rear passengers were improved to 80%, there would be an automatic 30% reduction in fatalities.

He used United States research into the cost of crashes in terms of fatalities and injuries, and converted them to the local situation. This indicated that at the current exchange rate, the total cost of crashes to the country was R306bn a year, a figure which was supported by the R12bn paid out by the Road Accident Fund, the cost of R11bn to the insurance industry for parts only, and the 25% impact of trauma admissions to hospitals.

As a member of the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC), the RTMC was following the principles laid down in the “Safe Systems Approach” built into the global plan for the 2011-2021 “Decade of Action for Road Safety.” This approach aimed to develop a road transport system which was better able to accommodate human error and took into consideration the vulnerability of the human body. The goal was to reduce fatalities by 50% by 2015. The five pillars of the “Decade of Action” were road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users and post-crash responses.

A key ingredient of road safety management in South Africa would be a locally-developed electronic Crash Information Management System (CIMS) to eliminate delays in accident reporting. The system, which uses a special “pen” for the completion of accident report forms and sends the data to a centralised collection point in real time, was demonstrated to Members. Mr Letsoalo said this innovation would improve the quality, completeness, accuracy and integrity of the data, allowing for better analysis, planning and research. It would also result in simplified processes, take advantage of modern technology, allow for the integration of various databases, and reduce the opportunities for fraud and corruption. The establishment of the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit (NTACU) would be supplemented by collaboration with other law enforcement agencies, such as the Hawks, and other civil society organisations. There was also a need to introduce a 24/7 shift system for provincial traffic, as most fatalities occurred when provincial traffic officers were not on duty.

To protect the road infrastructure, greater attention would be given to load management by the heavy freight industry. Specialised traffic enforcement units would be deployed along major arterial routes at weighbridges, truck-stops and toll gates. Attention would be focused on keeping unroadworthy vehicles off the road, with the introduction of the New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) and periodic vehicle testing from 2012-13. The fitness of passenger transport vehicles would come under closer scrutiny through the National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP).

Policing of road users would concentrate on excessive speed transgressions and moving violations, particularly dangerous driving, while the NREP had set a one million stop-and-check target a month. Road safety education and communication, especially for pedestrians, would be continuous, and it was proposed that road safety be incorporated into the school curriculum. Another proposal was the introduction of a graduated licence system for new drivers, where restrictions would apply in respect of alcohol limits, the carrying of passengers, and a three-year probationary period. Proposals for post-crash responses included incorporating incident management with disaster management, the establishment of a trauma information database, and the development of effective tools to monitor compliance with incident management. The RTMC was working on means to suspend public transport operators who were persistent offenders.

Mr Letsoala drew the attention of Members to an innovative and precautionary safety programme designed to educate and rehabilitate convicted traffic offenders, by compelling them to undergo re-testing to prove their driving competence and get them to learn the rules of the road. This programme would apply to those convicted of drunken driving, reckless, negligent or inconsiderate driving, and excessive speeding.

He said the major challenges and threats facing the RTMC were inadequate funding, and a scarcity of employees with analytical skills. Morale was low, leading to high turnover, and this increased the risk of top personnel being poached by other organisations.

Discussion
Mr I Ollis (DA) said the presentation had given broad details about people not buckling up, and the prevalence of drunkenness among drivers and pedestrians, and wanted to know what the RTMC was doing to stop this behaviour. He criticised the use of United States-based statistics to illustrate the local situation, and said the big difference in costs would have distorted the picture. The electronic CIMS raised security issues, and he asked if the Commission had a legal right to draw information from entities like eNatis and the Department of Home Affairs. What progress had been made in the investigation into the Roadlink bus situation?

Ms N Ngele (ANC) also queried the lengthy delay in finalising the Roadlink investigation, as passengers were at risk so long as this company’s buses remained on the roads.

Ms D Dlakude (ANC) said more funds were needed to attract highly skilled people to the RTMC, as the entity could not afford to lose the quality of people who could invent systems like the CIMS.

Mr E Lucas (IFP) urged a crackdown on the fraudulent issue of licences, and called for greater visibility of traffic police on the roads, as opposed to “groups of ten” congregating at speed traps. He also felt the use of local information, rather than US-based figures, would paint a more accurate picture. He supported the proposal that all old cars should be re-tested to ensure that they were safe.

Mr L Suka (ANC) suggested the RTMC should do comparative studies with other African states, rather than first world countries, to see how they conducted the fight against road fatalities. He warned that one of the problems with implementing 24/7 shifts for provincial traffic officers was the risk of impersonation – “fake” officers who stopped motorists in the early hours and robbed them. Public education was the key to the success of road safety programmes – was there a time frame for implementing this in the school curriculum? He proposed that the Committee conduct an oversight visit to weighbridges to see if they were performing as required, particularly at night.

Mr M Duma (ANC) said the RTMC needed stability at managerial level, and questioned how long Mr Letsoalo would have to continue operating in an “acting” capacity. Recent road safety figures showed an improvement, and he asked why fatalities had been lower this Easter than in previous years. He suggested that non-compliance with road rules was largely the result of the lack of visibility of traffic officers.

Mr Letsoalo defended the use of US-based figures, saying a very thorough methodology had been employed. In any event, even if allowance had to be made for local factors, Members at least had a figure to work with.

As part of the NREP, all traffic officers involved in the stop-and-check routine were required to check and enforce the buckling up of both front and rear passengers. A minimum of 10 000 drink/driving screenings would be conducted each month, and maximum penalties and re-testing would be called for.

Replying to criticism of the lack of police visibility, he pointed out that there were only 17 000 traffic officers, including municipal police, to patrol 752 000 roads in South Africa. Against this background, they had to focus on the worst roads from a safety point of view.

Three out of every four vehicles stopped for checks were found to be unroadworthy. Ideally, a vehicle should be roadworthied with each annual licence renewal, but there were insufficient facilities for this to be realised. It was hoped, however, that this would soon apply to vehicles more than five years old, or which had covered a certain specified distance.

The issue of security with the CIMS system should not be of concern. The type of information being captured was no more sensitive than that available to banks.

The Roadlink situation required the authorities to follow an elaborate legal process. Once the report had been completed, action would be taken. Assertions had to be backed up by evidence. The RTMC was aware that the public wanted it to move quickly, and in this regard, Parliament could assist by amending current legislation.

Mr Letsoalo said he hoped the road safety programme would be integrated into the schools’ curriculum within the next two years.

Referring to the staff situation at the RTMC, he said 25 new interns had been brought into the organisation, but two had already left. Unfortunately it was the more highly skilled employees who were being lost.

The lower Easter fatality figure was encouraging, but it was too early to draw any hard and fast conclusions about the role of the RTMC in achieving success. This would have to be judged through a consistent effort over a longer period.

He agreed that there needed to be a closer focus on the results of activities at weighbridges, and said the lack of visible policing was definitely a factor in non-compliance with road regulations.

The RTMC was trying to make the 24/7 deployment of traffic police applicable throughout all the provinces, but had to take the unions into account. The risk of “fake” traffic officers committing crimes could not be dismissed, but one should realise the same risk attached to the SAPS.

Corruption had been identified as a major problem which needed to be tackled. It was frustrating to take an unroadworthy vehicle off the road one day, and then find it back on the road the following day.

The Chairperson apologised for the restricted time available for discussion, owing to other parliamentary commitments. She commended the RTMC for developing the CIMS system internally, and for their presentation of a comprehensive strategy to tackle road safety issues. There was a need to engage with other spheres of government to see how they could contribute to the overall strategy.

The meeting was adjourned.