November 29, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
DRIVERS be warned, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is out in full force over the holiday season on the look out for speeding and drunk driving.
The department is throwing its weight behind the national Arrive Alive campaign this festive season to ensure that road users comply with road rules. An initiative of the Department of Transport, the campaign is aimed at reducing the number of accidents on the country's roads.
Road accidents - and fatalities in particular – should be down 5 percent over the same period the previous year, according to Arrive Alive objectives. The campaign has identified three factors that contribute to accidents in South Africa – speed, drinking and driving, and vehicle and driver fitness. These are targeted through intensified law enforcement and awareness programmes.
The JMPD is determined to keep the city's roads safe these holidays
JMPD spokesperson Wayne Minnaar says the Metro Police supports the national initiative and members of the department will be out in full force on all major roads in the city, targeting speeding and drunk drivers.
The campaign, which is also aimed at improving compliance with traffic laws, began two weeks ago. "We [are] using a sophisticated breathalyzer called the Draeger, which detects blood alcohol content," Minnaar explains. "There is no need to draw blood from suspects because the results from the machine can be presented as evidence to convict a person in a court of law."
Unlike blood tests, where results can take three months or longer, the Draeger prints out results in a matter of minutes, he says.
"The machine prints out four sheets. One printout contains the name of the suspect, identity number, date, time and case number to go inside the court docket; the second printout goes into the arresting officer's pocket docket; the third copy goes to the sergeant of the region and the last copy is given to the suspect."
Alcohol and speed are the core targets of Arrive Alive. The lethal cocktail of the two accounts for more than 60 percent of car crashes. Speed on its own plays a role in 75 percent of all crashes on South African roads.
Drunk driving is one of the biggest threats to road safety in South Africa and research indicates that 50 percent of people who die on the roads have a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of 0,05 gram per 100 millilitres. Motorists are warned of the following effects that drinking has on drivers:
- Alcohol affects caution and concentration - it makes you over-confident and reckless;
- Alcohol affects sound judgement - it makes you misjudge speed and the distance of other vehicles. Foolish decisions can lead to disastrous results; and
- Alcohol affects vision - it leads to double vision, tunnel vision and night blindness, all of which makes it impossible for you to react properly.
"The JMPD will also be on the lookout for unroadworthy public transport. Owners of such vehicles will be issued with notices to take them off the road until they are in a condition to be on our roads," Minnaar adds.
Taxi drivers will not be spared if they are found on the wrong side of the law. The Metro Police will not tolerate overloading and Minnaar says members of the department will ensure taxi drivers do not create a lane of their own by driving on the shoulders of the roads, especially on routes like William Nicol and Beyers Naude drives in northern Joburg.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
