Road fatalities costing the state billions

The RAF forks out at least R15-billion to victims of road crashes each year

A research conducted by the department of transport has revealed that the country loses about R306-billion annually as a result of road crashes and road fatalities. In the process the economy suffers massive manpower.

This includes loss of skills due to fatalities and injuries, emergency medical services, post-crash services such as road repairs and clean-up operations, as well as compensation paid out by the state-owned Road Accident Fund (RAF) pay-outs.

In a bid to curb this problem(at provincial level), the national government has set aside about R8.7-billion for the 2013/2014 financial year to allocate to provinces through the Division of Revenue Act, for the rehabilitation and maintenance of roads.

According to the transport department, the RAF alone pays out at least R15-billion to victims of road crashes each year and R1-billion of the amountis for continued medical support of those who get injured in crashes.  The RAF is able to register and settle claims swiftly on location through its community outreach programme.

The programme also assists in cutting out the proverbial “middleman” and ensures a satisfactorily payout to the claimant without lawyers claiming a fair share of the pay-out.  The minister of transport, Dipuo Peters said it is time the country began to thoroughly assess and fully comprehend the cost of crashes to the economy and society in general.

She also pointed out that it is a well-known fact that government does not have sufficient law enforcement officers to police every corner of the country. “The ministry is currently engaged in exploratory inter-governmental discussions regarding the human resource needs of traffic law enforcement authorities, that is a balanced division of labour and allocation of resources, human and financial alike.

“Moving violations are frequently emerging as the common form of cause of collision of vehicles with fatal consequences in some. “The department believes that part of the remedial actions for law enforcement authorities should be to increase traffic personnel to address glaring challenges such as dangerous overtaking which is a major cause of all fatal head-on collisions.

We believe that with additional capacity on our roads, we will be able to better tackle the challenge confronting the country,” said Peters. Peters further said it is a well-recognised fact that roads in bad conditions contribute to road collisions.

The department has further taken note of the fact that many provincial roads are not in a condition that enables and promotes road safety. The  minister revealed that the department has introduced new innovative ideas on acquiring external advice and skills that would help it respond to the challenges it faces through the provincial road maintenance grant, commonly known as S’hamba sonke, in additional to the budget set aside by the respective provinces.

She said the department will, from now onwards, ensure that each province has a dedicated service provider as and when external support is needed, to address the issue of road maintenance as part of strengthening capacity directly at provincial level.

“SANRAL will work closely with the team to ensure that an opinion is formulated post each collision in order to ascertain road engineering and structural factors that could possibly contribute to circumstances surrounding a particular collision.

“We urge all those who form part of the road construction value chain to always prioritise safety for every road they build, from design to the actual construction of the road. We are equally encouraged that in the main, our roads have been designed to appreciate and accommodate the important element of safety,” added Peters.

She said all people need to adhere to the set norms and standards of practice within the road construction industry because failure to do so might have fatal consequences in future.  According Peters, the entire value chain needs to speak one language with regard to the issue of quality and safe roads.

In Bloemfontein, Church Street is struggling to cope with the huge pile up of traffic as a result of the ongoing rehabilitation of the adjustment St Georges Street.  The congestion and the related chaos, is exacerbated by impatient taxis that break every rule of the road at the drop of a hat, just to be ahead of everyone else.

In the midst of this disorder and pandemonium, an Ethiopian man who was a passenger in a vehicle died instantly when the car vehicle rammed into a taxi and veered off the road before ramming into a bridge.  The driver of the vehicle is now fighting for his life at Pelonomi Hospital.

The SAPS spokesman, Constable Langa Masilele confirmed the incident, and said the Ethiopian motorist was being treated at the hospital with serious injuries. Free State police, roads and transport spokesman, Saki Mohono, said there are major routes in the province and need attention all year round, especially during peak periods; he stressed that this doesn’t mean that the department is neglecting the other routes.

Free State National roads that need extra attention from drivers:

• N1 Western Cape to Gauteng Province
• N3 KZN to Gauteng Province
• N5 Combining N3 and N1
• N6 from Bloemfontein to Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape
• N8 West to Northern Cape Border and N8 East – Bloemfontein to Maseru
• R30 from Bloemfontein, through Lejweleputswa to the North West and Gauteng provinces

Provincial Roads

• R26 Vereeniging, through the Fezile Dabi, Thabo Mofutsanyana and Motheo Districts into the Eastern Cape
• R57 Vanderbijlpark via Reitz to Qwaqwa
• R59 Vanderbijlpark via Parys and Bothaville  to Hoopstad
• R700 from Bloemfontein, via Bultfontein to Bothaville
• R702 between Bloemfontein, Wepener and Zastron including Inner Ring Road in Bloemfontein
• R720 from Reitz, via Kestell, to Phuthaditjhaba
• R721 between Parys and Kroonstad
• R30 Z.R. Mahabane, Bloemfontein via Welkom to Kroonstad

Pedestrian problem areas

The following have been identified as pedestrian problem areas in the Province and will get special attention during the Month of October:

• N1 in Ventersburg, Winburg and Glen
• N3 Villiers and Harrismith
• N5 in Paul Roux
• N8 West in Petrusburg
• N8 East in Thaba ‘Nchu
• R30 Bronville in Welkom
• R30 Allanridge

The Inner Ring Road (M10) and R702 in Bloemfontein

• Main road in Makwane – QwaQwa
• R719 Wesselsbron 4-way junction
• R728 between Sasolburg and Koppies
• R34 Kutlwanong