Pretoria - Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele says vehicles have become the "deadliest weapons of mass destruction in recent history."
Speaking at a breakfast to mark the establishment of Friends of the Decade of Action in South Africa in Boksburg on Monday, Ndebele said: "Vehicles have become the deadliest weapons of mass destruction in recent history! We must act and we must act now!"
Two minibus taxis crashed on the N2 in Mpumalanga at the weekend, claiming the lives of 12 people. Eleven others were injured.
On Friday night, four people died when a taxi collided with a truck that was making a U-turn on the freeway near Ermelo. Six people were seriously injured and taken to the Piet Retief Hospital. The truck driver initially ran away after the accident, but later handed himself over to police.
Another eight people were killed on Saturday when the taxi they were travelling in had a tyre burst. Five people were seriously injured and taken to Ermelo hospital.
Ndebele said in South Africa, road crashes killed 40 people a day and about 14 000 a year, leaving scores injured. Globally, road crashes account for 1.3 million deaths.
"The carnage is estimated to cost more than R60 billion to our domestic economy. Clearly this is a cost we can least afford," he said.
The minister said with the launch of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, road safety had moved from being a national and a continental issue to being a global challenge.
"In South Africa, we take the approach that only through partnership will we be able to address even the most intractable problems. Working together, we can fight and defeat this epidemic," he said, adding that the Decade of Action brings together government, communities, the media, private sector, taxi organisations and the religious community.
The purpose of the Friends of the Decade is to promote and plan the Decade of Action implementation plans. It will also advise on steps towards finalising the global Plan for the Decade and give guidance on communication for the Decade.
Ndebele said in South Africa, the time had come for such a group that will prioritise road safety and the end of road deaths.
"The Department of Transport wants to form solid partnerships with organised labour, business, the religious community, civil society as well as other formations to end the carnage on our roads. One such partner is the taxi industry. We are making major strides together with the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) to ensure safer roads," he said.
The department will also partner with SA Breweries in the establishment of Alcohol Evidence Centres across the country.
According to Ndebele, community-driven road safety, through Community Road Safety Councils, must become the primary driving force of the Decade of Action in South Africa.
"It is our deep belief that road safety is not what you do to a community; road safety is what you do with a community. Every road safety issue in a community must be the business of the Road Safety Council.
"This Decade is about Community Road Safety Councils, join one and become part of the solution," he said.
