Motorists have been urged to abide by the rules of the road by not driving and drinking while pedestrians were cautioned against the danger of walking and drinking in public as such behaviours expose them to unnecessary accidents.
The Easter road safety campaign was highlighted yesterday by the Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) chief Commissioner Yolanda Faro during the launch of the Easter road safety campaign near Hammanskraal.
Faro was joined by MMC for Community Safety Grandi Theunissen, Mayor Cilliers Brink and a team of Metro police officers who stopped vehicles to check for compliance and shared a safety message with road users to arrive alive.
She said the Metro police would clamp down on motorists likely to be caught on the wrong side of the law during this Easter weekend.
The road safety operation, she said, would focus on reducing road fatalities, checking vehicles’ roadworthiness, the use of safety belts, fatigue, drunk driving, pedestrian safety and dangerous driving.
Faro said the safety campaign was a continuation of last week’s operation, which was in force due to a long weekend.
“We know that this is the busiest weekend on our calendar. It is for religious reasons and also because people are going to see families and their loved ones. So our roads are extremely busy.
“We will concentrate on the driver's fitness, vehicle fitness and safety belts,” she said.
She appealed to motorists to keep to speed limits on the roads.
“Don’t drink and drive and also be patient with others on the road. Let us all arrive alive where we are going,” she said.
According to her, the metro police would be vigilant and visible in different parts of the city.
“We also are going to be very harsh and have a zero-tolerance on people that disobey the rules of the road,” she said.
Regarding pedestrians, she said: “If they must walk they must put on bright clothes and not drink and walk as well. We also want to speak to the law enforcement officers to say they must be vigilant, visible and make sure that everybody arrives alive.”
Theunissen urged drivers to always keep a safe following distance, saying that would give them enough time to react in case of an emergency.
In a media statement, he applauded the metro police for the ongoing efforts to uphold public safety and maintain law and order within the city.
“Over the past weeks, TMPD officials conducted several road safety and by-law operations with success. In an effort to clean up the city, the TMPD conducted by-law and road safety operations in the northern parts of Tshwane on 5 March 2024 and in the eastern parts on March 19 2024,” he said.
Brink advised motorists to take regular breaks to avoid fatigue, to always wear their seatbelts and ensure all their passengers do the same.
Pretoria News