Vavi should be setting example

Just days after leading an anticorruption march, expelled Cosatu boss Zwelinzima Vavi finds himself in confl ict with the law. The former trade union confederation general secretary was allegedly nabbed for driving at 182km/h on the R24 freeway near Edenvale in Ekurhuleni on Sunday morning in a 120km/h zone.

Vavi joins a long list of high-profile figures who have been caught speeding, among them deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, Kaizer Chiefs goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota, EFF leader Julius Malema, DJ Sbu and musician Steve Hofmeyr, whose son Armand was reportedly also nabbed on Sunday for the same crime.

Speeding is one of the major causes of the unacceptably high death toll on South African roads.

For us to turn the tide, influential figures such as Vavi should be at the forefront of efforts to bring the carnage on our roads to an end. Dangerous driving remains the major killer on our roads. It is worse if perpetrators are leading figures like Vavi, to whom many people look up to.

Many road users continue breaking the law because the penalties are lenient, in many cases simple fines.

For any road safety campaign to succeed, courts need to impose harsh penalties that will send out a message of zero tolerance to thugs on our roads.