A TOTAL of 237 people died on South Africa’s roads from 29 April to 2 May. On Tuesday, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said four major collisions claimed the lives of about 30 people throughout the country alone. Compared to the same period last year, there has been an increase of 106 fatalities.

“This past long weekend was one of the saddest moments in the history of our country with many lives lost on the roads and scores injured,” Peters said.

“Most worrying are the causes of these major crashes, which include drunk driving, overtaking when it is unsafe to do so, reckless and negligent driving as well as speeding. I urge the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) to move with urgency and reschedule traffic offenses with a view to introducing mandatory minimum sentences,” she said.

In addition, she has instructed the RTMC to speed up the process of establishing the Traffic Law Enforcement Review Committee to deal with the determination of norms and standards for the traffic law enforcement fraternity, as well as the integration of all traffic law enforcers.