RTMC Wants Speeds on SA Roads Dropped by 10km/h, SA Slams Suggestion: "Limits Aren't a Problem"

• The overall speed with which motorists can travel on South Africa's roads might be reduced by 10km/h if the RTMC has its way
• The corporation submitted its proposal for consideration by the government as it aims to curb the number of road deaths
• Motorists have expressed dismay with the recommendation, with many arguing that other factors were to blame for the carnage

JOHANNESBURG - The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) is calling for urgent government intervention to have the overall speed limits on South Africa's roads dropped by 10 km/h.

Earlier this week, the corporation handed in its recommendations to parliament's portfolio committee on transport. Here, the RTMC outlined that a 50km/h speed limit should be enforced on urban roads from 60km/h and to 110km/h from 120km/h on freeways.

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Briefly News has it on good authority that the objectives are in line with the United Nations (UN) global road safety partnership known as Decade of Action for Road Safety. The resolution encompasses the ambitious target of preventing at least 50 per cent of serious road injuries and deaths by 2030.

However, to date, there has been little seen in the way of reducing the annual road fatalities worldwide, with the UN calling on even more drastic 30km/h speed restrictions in cities, TimesLIVE reported.

Among the most fatalities globally

South Africa, with around 14 000 fatalities, is among the countries with the most road deaths in the world. Reducing speed limits would go a long way towards curbing these numbers, according to RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane.

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"From 195 countries, SA is listed at number 13 for the number of road deaths per capita. This is about 28.2 road deaths per 100 000 people, a January 2020 study has suggested," said Zwane.

SowetanLIVE reported that jaywalking contributed 23 per cent of all deadly crashes on the country's roads, followed by only by speeding, with 24 per cent. Overtaking across barrier lines was another prominent contributor, accounting for 5 per cent of all fatalities. Meanwhile, turning in front of oncoming traffic accounted for 4 per cent.

South Africans have expressed their displeasure with the proposal to have the overall speed limits on the country's roads reviewed. Many argued that the speed limits weren't the issue causing road deaths. Instead, the consensus was that other factors were to blame, including unroadworthy vehicles.

It will take more convincing

Briefly News takes a look at the reactions of throngs of unhappy road users below.

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@Kevin Hall wrote:

"Will not work if people ignore the existing one's. Unless the fines are increased and drivers & vehicle licenses are cancelled due to non-payment or excessive speeding. Imagine the tenders handed out for the new road signs."

@Rodney Beresford said:

"I'd like to see the statistics that state that the majority of deaths are caused by drivers doing speeds of 110 to 120 on the highway and 50 to 60 in other areas. This is basically a cop-out. The major cause is lack of proper law enforcement, poor testing and poor road maintenance."

@Ashley Cockhead added:

"The existing speed limits are not the problem. Fatal accidents are caused by people driving way faster than current speed limits and breaking other rules of the road. Leave us, law-abiding citizens, alone."

S's only driver's license printer operational

Elsewhere, Briefly News reported that Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula cut a delighted figure as he previously announced that the country's only driver's licence card printing machine was finally back in working order.

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As if South African motorists had not had their fill of poor road infrastructure, record fuel price hikes, and then some, the 20-year-old machine's near three-month-long dysfunctional state only served to worsen an already bad headache.

It had reportedly broken down on 7 November before adding to an existing backlog of expired driver's license holders waiting in line to get their reissued cards. Revealing that the only machine of its kind in SA was again printing cards, Mbalula took to his verified Twitter handle, writing in part:

"I visited the staff at the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), spending the afternoon with them. The licensing card printer has been repaired and is in working order."

Source: Briefly News