City Welcomes Mobile Stations to Boost Road Safety Efforts

The Road Traffic Management Corporation has donated two mobile testing trucks to the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department during the launch of 365-Days Arrive Alive Campaign held in Polokwane on Thursday, 3 December.

These trucks will test the roadworthiness of vehicles on the road and contribute towards improving road safety by motorists.

“In order to clamp down on lawlessness on the road, we have taken measures to strengthen law enforcement capacity by procuring 135 vehicles. These include 95 high performance vehicles, 25 bakkies and 15 mobile vehicle testing stations to improve monitoring of moving violations and excessive speeding on the roads. The mobile vehicle testing stations will be used to test the roadworthiness of vehicles on our roads,” said Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula.

“The prevalence of unroadworthy vehicles poses a serious hazard as these contributed 7% to fatal crashes in the last year. However, it must not be forgotten that the attitude and behaviour of our drivers remains the biggest problem on the roads.

“Motorists must make a commitment to travel during the day. Statistical analysis shows that 50% of road deaths occur after dark. A high number of crashes happen between 19h00 and 23h00. Therefore, this is the most dangerous time to drive during the festive season,” said minister Mbalula.

Member of Mayoral Committee for Community Safety Cllr Frans Mmoko said, “As the Metro we welcome the contribution by RTMC; these tools of trade will allow us to conduct our work efficiently. Road safety remains our top priority throughout the year. These mobile testing stations will boost our effort in ensuring that our roads remain safe for all road users.”