Discipline hauliers now, says top body

KEVIN MAYHEW
As South Africa waits to see what the final Easter road death toll will be, the South African Road Federation (SARF) has called for a concerted national campaign to rein in undisciplined road hauliers who are flagrantly ignoring the national road code. “This is the only way we can put a stop to the daily carnage caused by heavy vehicles,” says Dr Malcolm Mitchell, executive director of SARF and former deputy director general of the Department of Transport. Mitchell notes that the Road Traffic Quality System (RTQS), which was proposed by Government as a means of policing road hauliers after deregulation of the road haulage industry in the mid-1980s, has never been properly applied. RTQS measures include a restriction on driving hours, regular inspection of vehicles and many other safety-related requirements. The consequences of not applying them are “all too apparent”, he contends. These include overloading, overworked and drugged drivers, speeding well in excess of the 80km/h highway limit, poorly maintained vehicles and inadequate resting facilities. And the widespread practice of paying drivers according to tonnage moved encourages overloading, over working and speeding. “This lethal cocktail of infringements is why so many accidents and breakdowns occur daily, with their attendant injury and loss of life, affecting not only truck drivers, but other hapless road users as well. In addition, SARF believes that road hauliers are under-paying for road usage and are causing severe damage to an under-financed and inadequate road network. “Central Government cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer and should intervene forcefully, initiating a national RTQS-based safety campaign. It should also provide funds for the recruitment and training of additional traffic personnel on the one hand and for the proper maintenance of the country’s highway grid on the other,” concludes Mitchell. Mitchell’s call comes after a recent blitz on heavy vehicles in KwaZulu-Natal – which was classified as very successful by traffic law enforcement authorities in the province – and the North West Province Transport, Roads and Community Safety MEC, Jerry Thibedi, launched the “Operation Emisa” campaign as part of Arrive Alive. Operation Emisa involved traffic authorities employing tough measures to curb road accidents, and they were particularly harsh over the Easter period and other public holidays that made for ideal long weekends.