{"id":102984,"date":"2026-01-03T12:26:49","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:26:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=102984"},"modified":"2026-01-03T12:26:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T10:26:49","slug":"gauteng-festive-road-safety-drive-records-drop-in-fatalities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/gauteng-festive-road-safety-drive-records-drop-in-fatalities\/","title":{"rendered":"Gauteng festive road safety drive records drop in fatalities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a> <\/em>
\n3-minute read | 31 December 2025<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf8 Gauteng records a 15% drop in road deaths following intensified festive season law enforcement, with authorities urging continued road safety and responsible behaviour.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has reported encouraging results from its intensified festive season law enforcement operations, citing a notable decline in road deaths during one of the year’s busiest travel periods.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Radio Islam International,<\/em><\/a> departmental spokesperson Lesiba Mpya said the campaign, carried out between 22 and 28 December across Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni, has yielded \u201cstrong results\u201d through the work of the Gauteng Transport Inspectorate (GTI).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe seem to be winning the road safety battle, particularly this festive season,\u201d Mpya said, pointing to a \u201c15 percent drop in road deaths compared to last year.\u201d He attributed the improvement to aggressive enforcement, especially targeting public transport and unsafe vehicles.<\/p>\n

According to Mpya, officials focused on a range of offences including non-compliance, drunk driving and bribery. \u201cWe have been very aggressive in our public transport crackdown, as well as the discontinuation of unroadworthy vehicles,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During the reporting period, 45 unsafe vehicles were discontinued, while 30 vehicles were impounded. Authorities also arrested 27 motorists for offences including drunk driving and attempted bribery. In addition, 193 drivers were found to be operating vehicles without valid licences, and 187 minibus taxis were stopped for failing to display licence discs. A further 65 minibus taxis were discontinued.<\/p>\n

Mpya said the department\u2019s road safety campaign underpins the enforcement drive, It Starts With You<\/em>, which emphasises personal responsibility on the roads. \u201cEighty-seven percent of crashes are caused by human error, not mechanical failure,\u201d he noted. \u201cThe choices that people make speeding, drinking and driving, walking on highways, are what amount to the high level of fatalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

While overall fatalities showed a decline, Mpya raised serious concerns about pedestrian deaths, which he said account for a significant portion of road fatalities. \u201cWe are seeing a lot of pedestrians getting killed,\u201d he said, adding that poor visibility and risky behaviour, such as crossing highways, are major contributing factors. \u201cMotorists cannot see them, particularly at night.\u201d<\/p>\n

He stressed that the intensified enforcement is not limited to peak seasons. \u201cLaw enforcement intensification is a measure that is also going to be seen throughout the year,\u201d Mpya said, describing it as part of a broader zero-tolerance approach to lawlessness on Gauteng\u2019s roads.<\/p>\n

As traffic volumes increase with holidaymakers returning home, Mpya urged motorists to remain vigilant. \u201cFatigue kills. Stop and rest if you are tired. Do not drink and drive,\u201d he said. He also appealed to taxi passengers to check vehicle roadworthiness and to pedestrians to \u201cwear bright clothing at night, never walk on highways and use pedestrian crossings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mpya concluded with a warning against corruption: \u201cIf you are going to bribe a police officer, you are going to be arrested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Your World Today<\/em> <\/a>with Annisa Essack and Lesiba Mpya.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read | 31 December 2025 The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport has reported encouraging results from its intensified festive season law enforcement operations, citing a notable decline in road deaths during one of the year’s busiest travel periods. Speaking to Radio Islam International, departmental spokesperson Lesiba Mpya said the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":102985,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Festive-driving.jpg?fit=756%2C425&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qN2","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 00:00:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102984","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102984"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102984\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102984"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102984"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102984"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}