‘Reckless drivers must go to jail’, says Parliamentary committee as Festive Road Safety Plan launches
Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has called for harsher consequences for drivers who break the law.
Image: IOL
South Africa’s roads are among the deadliest in the world, yet day after day, reckless drivers see little or no consequence for their deadly deeds.
The Festive Season is a particularly dangerous time on our roads, where there is often much talk about road safety, but never enough action to stem the tide of lawlessness on our roads.
Commenting on the Department of Transport’s Festive Road Safety Plan that was announced last week, Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Transport has called for stringent measures for drivers who break the law this Festive Season.
Though it welcomed Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s Plan, which emphasises visibility, communication and vehicle roadworthiness, the committee said the plan needs to clamp down harder on human behaviour, which accounts for 80% of accidents and fatalities.
This, it says, should include jail time for reckless drivers, on-the-spot impounding of vehicles and a clamp-down on police bribery.
“We have been patient for too long, and we have emphasised law-enforcement visibility and plans but they do not seem to bring about the required and desired outcomes,” said committee Chairperson Donald Selamolela
“This festive season should be the one where we all are able to say up to this far and no further.”
Another challenge, he emphasised, was officials taking bribes.
“This is another challenge which we ought not to be kind in resolving. People should be held accountable, and if it means firing them, that must happen,” Selamolela said.
“Road safety is everybody’s business, and we should set an example this December,” he added.
Festive Season road deaths hit a new high of 1,502 fatalities during the 2024/25 holiday period. This represented a 5.3% increase over the previous period, following a 4.2% increase in crashes.
When announcing the death toll in January 2025, Minister Creecy promised “severe consequences” for those who continue to show a disregard for road safety.
“We will continue to direct our efforts at changing the behaviour of road users, invest in designing and engineering safer roads, enforcing safe speeds in high congestion areas, and enhancing emergency response systems and access to quality trauma care, which is essential to saving lives,” Creecy stated.
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