The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport launched its Easter holiday and Passover long weekend road safety campaign with the inspection of vehicles at the Umdloti Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) centre on Tuesday.
MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, said officials had inspected 17 buses and minibus taxis by 9am.
“The no-nonsense teams from Operation Shanela and Road Traffic Inspectorate impounded four vehicles during the inspection,” Duma said.
He said a multi-disciplinary roadblock executed in KwaMashu, jointly with SAPS, eThekwini Metro Police and other key stakeholders had set the tone for the weeks ahead.
Newly appointed head of the department, Zibusiso Dlamini, is leading a team that will intensify the #NenzaniLaEzweni across 17 provincial weighbridge sites.
Duma said overweight trucks had been impounded at weighbridges as well as those operating with fraudulent registration documents.
“We want to introduce artificial intelligence in order to automate the weighing process, improve accuracy, and prevent fraud through features like automated number plate recognition, real-time data analytics, and anomaly detection.”
Duma said the department had set a target of achieving a 10% decrease in road fatalities this Easter holiday and Passover long weekend.
“During Easter 2025, we recorded a 38% decrease in the number of fatalities compared to the 43% we recorded in 2024. We have deployed more than 3 483 law enforcement officers and 105 national police officers, and they will all execute the Nenzani La Ezweni Operation with precision,” he said.
The officers will be operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until May 3.
“We will have 148 multidisciplinary roadblocks. More than 80 roadblocks will focus on drunk driving alone. We will execute more than 118 speed operations in high-accident zones and other areas frequented by visitors and worshippers. There are more than 17 interprovincial roadblocks that will be undertaken by a roving team of law enforcement officers,” Duma said.
“In addition, we understand that there are school educational tours during the Easter holidays. In this regard, we will execute more than 91 operations focusing on scholar transport. Unroadworthy vehicles and taxis will be removed. We will target not only drivers but also the owners of these vehicles.”
Duma said for the first time, through 28 pedestrian enforcement operations, the department would clamp down on drunk pedestrians on busy roads.
“We will also penalise pedestrians who fail to use pedestrian bridges on various routes.”
