Swift Reaction to Ministers Call…

speed limit to be reduced because of road accidents.

Will the reduction of the speed limits on national roads from 120 km/h to 100km/h reduce the number of accidents on our national roads? Transport minister Sbu Ndebele thinks so.

Ndebele this week threw the cat among the pigeons with his plan to reduce the speed limit to 100km/h. The reaction came thick and fast. Analysts, drivers and even trade unions were quick to shoot down the proposal. Justice Project SA said that speed was rarely the cause of collisions. JPSA chairman Howard Dembovsky said a head-on crash was devastating even when two vehicles were both travelling at only 16km/h. Ndebele countered that studies conducted in other countries such as Australia, where the speed limit is 110km/h, indicated a reduction in the speed limit could save lives.

However, transport union Satawu said comparing South African with other countries and other road conditions only clouded the matter. Satawu said road safety could be better improved by strengthening law enforcement, providing reliable and safe public transport, maintaining existing roads and clamping down on corrupt officials. Ndebele announced his proposal after visiting the scene of a minibus accident between Empangeni and Mtubatuba, where 10 lives were snuffed out.

Ndebele did not mention that minibus taxis were already restricted to a 100km/h limit with little effect on the accident statistics. In August, South Africans were shocked by bus accidents that led to more than 40 lives taken on the roads. Trucks are already barred from travelling faster than 80km/h. however, most motorists will know of these heavy-duty monsters wheezing past them at the speeds way above that limit while there are no traffic officers in sight. Other pundits say local motorists have little or no respect for the law and drive recklessly knowing they can get away with it. Drinking and driving remains the key violation on our roads while overloading and un-roadworthy vehicles remain a problem the authorities seem unable to deal with.

The transport departments long running road safety campaign arrive alive has been encouraging motorists to ease up on the pedal with its well-known slogan: SPEED KILLS. However, few headed this warning and thousands of tickets are served on motorists for speeding every month. Ndebele’s department has failed to implement Aarto, a penalty system aimed to punish motorists for breaking the law. Ndebele plans to take his proposal to reduce the speed limit to cabinet soon.  

VOTE:

should the speed limit be reduced to 100km/h?

• YES 
• NO
• MAYBE