Address these avoidable ills

AS A NATION, we find ourselves perennially worrying about jobs and the economy – and at the same time blaming the government for waste and corruption. One of the biggest culprits, though, is far closer to home.

Road accidents cost us, indirectly, R149 billion last year alone. It is a staggering sum from any perspective and – tragically – mostly avoidable.

Had drivers not driven recklessly, too fast, under the influence of alcohol or in roadworthy vehicles, this money could have been saved, along with the incalculable cost in grief and rebuilding families torn apart.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that we wrote about the incredible 51 percent jump in the Easter death toll.

The rise would suggest we are losing the battle to keep death off our streets and highways.

There is hope, though; Road Transport Management Corporation chief executive Makhosini Msibi told Parliament’s transport committee on Friday that he would like to see traffic officers work a shift system similar to the SAPS, providing blanket 24-hour, seven-days-a-week law enforcement.

The Western Cape has begun instituting this, with Mpumalanga to follow in September.

Msibi also wants officers to undergo three years’ training rather than the current six months.

What’s terrifying is that it has taken until now for us to be told we have a system of law enforcement that’s so out of step with our other efforts to combat crime that it might as well not exist.

Crime does not keep office hours, and road offences most certainly do not.

The training, or lack thereof, might also explain the parlously low rate of detection and consequent conviction of delinquent drivers and the concomitant disrespect for the rules of the road.

We hope that Msibi gets his way, to better train traffic officers across the country and get them where they need to be: out on the roads, not stuck behind desks, to ensure that we finally create a culture in this country of respect for the law – and for each other – on our roads.