South Africa must look at its traffic law enforcement methods before it apportions blame for vehicle accidents. “In South Africa if a truck driver is stopped and has fatigue it is a labour issue and not a road traffic management issue,” said Stan Bezuidenhout, a forensic collision homicide reconstructionist. “This would have far more to do with the employment act than the danger a tired driver is to other road users and himself. In Australia truck drivers are legally bound to carry fatigue logs. This documents when they stop, where they stop and for how long. If a traffic officer stops them and this log is not filled in it is seen as a serious offence.” But, he said, one can continue to quote examples from other countries but until South Africa looks at law enforcement and how it is managed there will be no difference when it comes to accidents. Johan Jonck of Arrive Alive says the focus is on speed and even this is enforced by camera. According to Gavin Kelly, spokesman for the RFA, this has more to do with revenue generation than changing driver behaviour. “Fines for traffic violations are a valid method of revenue collection for many municipalities across the country. We are going to have to address that before we do anything else,” he said. INSERT & CAPTION If a truck driver is stopped and has fatigue it is a labour issue. – Stan Bezuidenhout
