Safe travel is the responsibility of all road users

With more than 1-million vehicles on our roads this Easter weekend, the need for extra caution cannot be overstated. Many of these trips will be long-distance ones, meaning drivers will be under pressure to deliver their valuable human cargo safely to hundreds of destinations. We know from previous years that, regrettably, there will be those for whom this is a final journey. Already, the horrific bus crash in Limpopo that killed 45 passengers and the driver, and spared the life of an eight-year-old girl, has blighted the holiday season.

We will be hoping that the death and injury toll is lower than last year, when there were 185 accidents, with 225 fatalities. Most of these deaths were among pedestrians, at 44%, which suggests that drivers and pedestrians are not exercising due care. Alcohol undoubtedly played a large role in many of these needless deaths.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation says it has plans to deal with accidents that involve pedestrians, single vehicles overturning, hit-and-runs and head-on collisions.

In this election year, our politicians have been out in their numbers, eager to demonstrate that they care. Strategically placed at roadblocks on our highways, their presence may be reassuring to some but to others it will look like making a show of caring before they head off in their blue-light convoys, invariably speeding and putting other motorists at risk.

While the presence of roadblocks and other traffic checks is essential, perhaps too much reliance is placed on these static forms of policing, which no doubt generate essential revenue for cash-strapped local councils. However, actual policing on the roads should not be neglected. It’s no use being stopped at a roadblock and fined for having a faulty indicator but then being allowed to drive however recklessly down the road, out of sight of the traffic authorities.

Let’s hope that in the spirit of Easter, motorists will take time to remind themselves that in each vehicle is a loved one for whom someone is waiting at the end of the journey. Think twice before you undertake that reckless overtaking manoeuvre. Better still, exercise patience and care. Remember, the roads are a public resource, there for all who use them.