Johannesburg - It is hoped a new transport campaign, which will see at least a million vehicles stopped and checked every month, will reduce the number of road fatalities across the country.
Launching the new National Rolling Enforcement Plan (NREP) on Friday, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said the campaign will be effective from 1 October 2010 until end of October 2011.
"From October this year, we will stop and check one million vehicles a month. The plan is informed by the fatal crash report and the offence survey results for 2009," he said at a conference of traffic chiefs.
"Work will be done to ensure the plan is supported by a clearly targeted strategy and well-defined objectives. Our strategy will be based on our scientific analysis of statistics relating to cause of death and problem areas in all the provinces," he said.
Chief Executive Officer of the Road Traffic Management Corporation, Collins Letsoalo, said the NREP was developed with the view to provide a national blueprint for effective and coordinated enforcement operations to make the greatest impact on offences and crashes on the roads.
"To make it work, we need your support and commitment because together we can make a difference to the high offence and fatality rates," he told traffic chiefs attending the conference.
"The NREP is a living, dynamic document which will be tweaked and fine-tuned as and when necessary, but will endeavor to provide a seamless, national enforcement plan that responds to the needs and demands of the prevailing circumstances in a smart, effective and efficient fashion in order to make the biggest impact on the carnage on our roads," he said.
The campaign will be carried out in partnership with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
The public broadcaster's veteran journalist and newly appointed head of news Phil Molefe said apart from reporting on the road fatalities, they also had a key role to play in encouraging good behavior on the road.
October, which is Transport Month, will be used by the department to raise driving standards by tightening the screws on driving schools and testing centres.
Ndebele said every 17-year-old in the country should have a learner's licence, while an 18-year-old should have a driver's licence.
"We want to see our country producing people with a matric certificate in one hand and a driver's licence in the other hand," the minister said.
