THE Western Cape provincial government is going all out to clamp down on reckless driving over this festive period, even offering a R50,000 reward for 'fine free' Western Cape drivers".
Western Cape transport MEC Robin Carlisle said on Monday the cash reward for 'fine-free' drivers was part of a "behavioural economics technique aimed at establishing a culture of obeying road rules by promoting an identity of responsible road users".
He said two cash prizes of R25,000 will be rewarded to qualifying drivers, drawn at random, from motorists with their vehicles registered in the province. All motorists in the province were automatically entered into the draw, and winners would be drawn from those who meet set criteria and ensure that their details on the National Traffic Information System (eNaTiS) were correct and up to date.
"This reward is aimed at the very many drivers in the province who are responsible, who obey the rules of the road religiously, and make the informed decisions that save lives whenever they take to the roads.
"Together, with these responsible citizens, we have managed to reduce the fatalities in the province by 28%, and will continue to work hard to reach our collective goal of halving road deaths by the end of 2014," Mr Carlisle said.
The provincial government and the City of Cape Town have made headlines in recent times for introducing a raft of controversial measures to reduce road accidents.
Just last week, Mr Carlisle said tired motorists on the province’s roads would now be pulled off the road, forced to rest and have their vehicle’s keys confiscated. The move was criticised by some observers, who questioned how traffic officers would be able to gauge "tiredness".
The province also introduced free safety checks for private vehicles and long distance mini-bus taxis. The free checks, which ended at the weekend, were part of the campaign to boost road safety over the busy Christmas period.
Earlier this year, the city instituted a new bylaw giving authorities the right to confiscate cellphones being used by motorists while driving.
The transport MEC said up until the 16th of December 2012, 89 people had been killed on the Western Cape roads, compared to 66 in 2011, an increase of 35%, adding that fatigue has played a major role in the December fatalities.
