MOTORISTS ENCOURAGED TO DRIVE DRY WHEN RETURNING FROM HOLIDAYS

The road activation will take place at the Nyl Plaza in Limpopo on Sunday, 6th and Monday, 7th of January from early in the morning until the afternoon where the traffic volume is expected to increase. The intervention will take place in a form of a stop and go and one on one interventions with drivers and passengers and ensuring that all abide by the rules of the road.

At the beginning of December, Drive Dry partnered with the RTMC to provide on the ground road safety awareness. The campaign involved educating road users about the dangers of speeding and drunk driving and encouraging them to buckle up their seat belts at all times (including passengers). They were also alerted to the importance of taking regular breaks when travelling a long distance trip to avoid fatigue.

"We are concerned about all the accidents that continue to claim the lives of people on the roads. This coming weekend, together with the RTMC and other stakeholders, we will be at it again to ensure that everyone returns home safe and sound," says Lebogang Mashigo, Drive Dry Campaign Manager at Diageo South Africa.

With road safety being the number one priority for both the RTMC and Drive Dry, especially during the festive season, collaboration between the two organizations was put in place to support law enforcement and to reward those motorists who conduct themselves in a responsible and appropriate manner on the roads.

"We cannot ensure the safety of our people on the roads by working alone. It is through partnerships with private stakeholders like Drive Dry that we will be able to keep our communities safe and reduce the high number of road fatalities," says Simon Zwane, RTMC Spokesperson.

"The collaboration between private and public sector organisations is key to improving the safety and wellbeing of our road users across the country. We need to work even harder to create road safety awareness across the country throughout the year. We believe that at the end we can win this battle, added Zwane.

In mid - December, the Minister Nzimande announced that the road accidents have increased by 16% claiming 767 lives with excessive speeding and drunk driving being the most common road violations. The official festive season road stats will be released later this month.