Today, I joined Provincial Traffic Officers during an integrated road operation in the West Coast to officially launch Transport Month.

October is marked as Transport Month in South Africa. The month is being used by government to advance, among other things, the country’s road safety initiatives and to create awareness about the important role of safe, affordable and reliable transport systems for everyone.

I will, throughout the month criss-cross the province, to increase awareness and promote the safety of drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users, as we look to improve mobility in the Western Cape, so that people and goods can get to places, pushing our priorities of jobs, safety and well-being. This year the focus is on safety – safe and responsible road user behaviour in general and pedestrian safety in particular. The statistics on pedestrian killings are staggering. We need to rethink mobility overall. I want it to be safer in the Western Cape than anywhere else in the country.    

No one should be killed or injured on our roads. We should do everything we can to achieve ‘Vision Zero’ when it comes to our roads – to ultimately eliminate all traffic fatalities and severe injuries, and make mobility safer.

It cannot be business as usual during this month. We have to work around the clock, provide structured traffic law enforcement and road safety interventions to influence road users positively, with a view to demonstrating improved behaviour while using our road network to commute within and beyond the Western Cape.

Our primary focus this month is the maintenance and the regulation of safe and responsible road user behaviour, with an added focus on pedestrian behaviour.

The unpredictable movement of pedestrian across the province has been the largest contributor to our fatality rate week-on-week. As part of our integrated Pedestrian Safety Plan we will pay special focus on visibility, jaywalking, and destructive and distracted walking in hotspot areas.

Walking remains the most common mode of transport and therefore requires special attention, as we aim to keep pedestrians safe.

Our traffic officers are playing an important role in making our communities safe for all who live and move around in the Western Cape. The officers will continue to execute multiple joint integrated operations and visibility strategies throughout the province to ensure the safety of motorists and other road users.

I will continue to support our traffic officers and promote our communication and awareness campaign for October Transport Month by actively participating at various Traffic Law Enforcement activities and awareness campaigns across the province.

Photo caption: Western Cape Minister of Mobility, Daylin Mitchell, officially launched Transport Month with a road safety activity on the R27 in the West Coast.

Media Queries:           

Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka

Spokesperson for Minister Daylin Mitchell

Cell: 082 953 0026

Email: Ntomboxolo.Makoba-Somdaka@westerncape.gov.za