Cape Town - Residents have two days left to make sure their vehicles are roadworthy as traffic inspectors will be out in full force ahead of the long weekend.
This as Provincial Traffic Services are offering a free vehicle fitness service at the Gene Louw Traffic College in Brackenfell until Wednesday.
Launching the provincial Easter road safety plan on Monday, Mobility MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie said: "This voluntary check includes tyres, lights, brakes, suspension, CV joints, electrical, fuel supply system, exhaust, wipers, and licence disc.
“The opportunity is available...and I encourage anyone planning to travel this week to bring their car down to Brackenfell.
“Our Road Safety Officers are also available to share tips and information for travelling safely. "
Mackenzie said they were expanding the Integrated Transport Hub, with a province-wide network of licence plate reading cameras monitoring road traffic, enabling the immediate detection of road traffic infringements, contraventions and crime, including unroadworthy, unlicensed, and off route vehicles; cloned number plates; fatigued drivers; and vehicles known to be involved in crime.
Nationally the theme for the 2023 Easter Arrive Alive campaign, launched at the weekend, is #Zithibe, meaning resist the temptation.
Statistics showed that the number of fatal crashes decreased by 30% in Easter 2022, year-on-year, compared to the previous year, from 222 to 156 fatal crashes, Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said.
In the Western Cape, 36 people died on the roads during the April Easter period last year.
Chikunga said new traffic law enforcement will be deployed on a 24-hour, seven days a week basis.
"This will be reinforced by technological innovations that will ensure that there is no place to hide for those determined to undermine the rule of law on our roads.”
Cape Times