Target basic violations to improve safety on roads

WHILE the fight against road carnage must go ahead and also gather momentum, the new suggested road rules are ridiculous, to say the least.

Obviously no decent study has gone into determining the real reasons for the carnage.

It is obvious to me that we do not have control of the current obligations with respect to road rules.

How therefore do the powers that be intend to control the new rules?

There is an absolute and blatant disrespect for the current road rules.

All that needs to be done is to park in an area and observe the law breakers at various vantage points.

Note you will not have to wait long before you see more than one infringement, such as:

ý Pedestrians walking across streets or freeways without looking, as if they have the right of way;

ý Alcohol abuse by both drivers and pedestrians;

ý Illegal parking, including parking on the wrong side of the road; ý Stopping in no-stopping areas; ý Blatantly ignoring the current speed limits; ý Overtaking other vehicles on a solid barrier line;

ý Overtaking other vehicles in the face of oncoming traffic;

ý Overtaking other vehicles over solid barrier lines and on a blind rises; ý Driving through red robots; ý Not stopping at stop streets; ý No clue as to requirements when passing through large or small circles, alternatively blatantly ignoring the rules for these.

Attend to the minor issues first, patrol more, issue the necessary fines and collect moneys due through following due process legally, and take action harshly through the legal process on the criminal acts regarding the serious offences, including vehicle overloading.

Be dogmatic, and remove unroadworthy vehicles from the roads and highways. Harshly prosecute unlicensed drivers. Yes, taxis are a concern, especially where they stop at random. However, they are not the only guilty culprits as the general public are also to blame in a lot of instances.

Drivers do not appear to be defensive, but rather angry and aggressive, which is a trend that must be reversed. This is also witnessed through the road rage incidences.

Surely taking action as listed above will go a long way in resolving the problems.

Then we can concentrate on other items such as speed. Last, speed bumps – whose brilliant idea is this? He or she should be awarded the prize of mampara of the decade – or maybe the powers-that-be want them on the freeways in the near future.

Placing speed bumps where really required is not the problem, rather the number erected with abandon throughout the city is my concern.

John Lindsay, Levyvale, Uitenhage