Sanral calls for responsible road behaviour on SA roads this Easter season

The South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) has made a call for responsible road behaviour over this year's Easter season. Sanral Road Safety and Awareness manager, Elna Fourie, was speaking ahead of a special ceremony scheduled for Tuesday, 22 April at the University of Pretoria where a host of celebrities and government officials will be taking a pledge for road safety.

"Until a number of road safety issues have been addressed we can expect the carnage on South African roads specifically around holiday seasons to continue," she said.

Globally, road crashes kill 1.3 million people every year, more than malaria or tuberculosis. By 2030 they will kill more than the two combined and even more than HIV. Most by far die in poor and middle-income countries. This is according to a report by The Economist at the end of January. Fourie said that Sanral was very aware of this man-made "epidemic" and the agency's approach is that road safety is a central consideration in every decision about construction, maintenance, operation and management of the road network.

"Sanral supports a holistic approach which entails engineering, education and enforcement." Fourie added that Sanral was also cognisant of the human factors that contribute to most crashes.

Fourie said that Sanral's planned road safety event will see a number of South Africans pledging responsible behaviour including not to text, drink, and speed while making use of the roads.

Road safety education and awareness programmes are a key Sanral commitment. These programmes provide holistic solutions, embracing enforcement of road rules, engineering, education and social approaches.

Interventions include improving pedestrian routes, speed-control enforcement and community involvement, such as helping children walk to school. Sanral also provides training for officials, youth and community groups.

CCTV video surveillance on urban highways detect and notify emergency authorities of incidents. Fourie said that Sanral's road safety initiatives are being expanded and constantly enhanced. "These are ongoing programmes and will have to be intensified," she conceded.

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