Law enforcement is intensifying efforts along the popular roads this festive season in order to minimise truck collisions while cracking down on motorists who show disregard for road regulations.
This follows the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) implementing a comprehensive plan to tackle ill-discipline on the roads with the Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula officially launching the 2022 Festive Season Road Safety campaign on Thursday, 8 December 2022.
Mbalula explained traffic law enforcement authorities committed themselves to aggressively tackling vehicle roadworthiness, pedestrian safety, public passenger transport, drunken driving and speeding.

“As we implement our festive season law enforcement interventions, we will tighten the noose around the necks of those who continue to perpetuate unlawful conduct. We remain resolute in our efforts to arrest the carnage on our roads. It is of paramount importance that we tackle the drivers of fatalities on the road,” said Mbalula.
The Minister also said that all vehicle fitness aspects will be closely monitored with intensified emphasis on passenger-carrying vehicles such as minibus taxis, buses and bakkies.
“All transgressions will be addressed and prioritised accordingly, and offenders will meet with the full might of the law. The interventions that we initiated on the N2 Pongola and N3 Pietermaritzburg, including the routes R34 and R66 to address truck crash will be intensified.”
Additionally, he said that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has dedicated prosecutors, who will direct investigations of all truck and bus crashes on these routes. Plus, multi-disciplinary law enforcement operations will be conducted over the festive season to stop and check trucks and buses for roadworthiness on these routes as part of a nationwide operation.
“Vehicles travelling without registration plates or permits will be prosecuted. Special targeted alcohol enforcement roadblocks will be carried out at high-risk areas and motorists are warned that should they be found with a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, the law will take its full course,” stated Mabula.
The Minister warned motorists against trying to bribe traffic officials, explaining, “Our anti-corruption efforts will focus on these wayward motorists and those law enforcement officials who either accept or solicit these bribes. This is a cancer we are determined to uproot if we are to make a telling difference in making our roads safer.”
Motorists should note, traffic law enforcement has been given a boost this year with the deployment of a new technology, called the e-force.
Mbalula highlighted that the National Traffic Police has piloted this technology over the past few months and has held extensive engagements with prosecution authorities to enable its use in traffic management.
He said the e-force will enable officers to prosecute more traffic offenders, as it enabled them to identify drivers and ownership of vehicles by simply scanning the drivers’ licenses and vehicle discs.
“Those who drive around with vehicle discs obtained fraudulently will be apprehended. The e-force will enable our officers to prosecute more traffic offenders, as it enables them to identify drivers and ownership of vehicles by simply scanning the drivers’ licenses and vehicle discs. Through the RTMC’s national anti-corruption unit we have built institutional capacity to deal with bribery, fraud, and corruption in traffic management across spheres of government. The anti-corruption unit will be deployed to ensure that corruption by both law enforcement officers, and motorists do not undermine our efforts,” assured Mabula.
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