The City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Directorate is using a multi-pronged plan to contribute to road safety efforts over the school holidays and the upcoming Easter weekend.
From an enforcement perspective, the City’s Traffic Service, Metro Police and Law Enforcement Departments will implement the festive season safety blueprint which includes visible policing, ad hoc vehicle checkpoints, and roadblocks in association with the South African Police Service and Provincial Traffic Service.
Driver behaviour and vehicle fitness are two crucial elements in ensuring road safety. It is for this reason that the City’s vehicle testing centres are also making free vehicle checks available this week (3 – 7 April 2017), from 08:00 until 14:00 daily. The checks include tyres, brakes, wipers, etc.
The following vehicle testing centres are providing the free safety checks:
| Bellville | Reed Street, Bellville |
| Brackenfell | corner of Kruispad and Reservoir Streets, Brackenfell |
| Durbanville | 93B De Villiers Drive, Durbanville |
| Gallow’s Hill | corner of Ebenezer and Somerset Roads, Green Point |
| Goodwood | corner of Frans Conradie and Hugo Streets, Goodwood |
| Hillstar | Plantation Road, Ottery |
| Joe Gqabi | corner of Stock and Market Roads, Philippi East |
| Kuils River | Fabriek Street, Kuils River |
‘These free vehicle checks are not a full roadworthy test. They are instead designed to flag anything that requires attention before motorists embark on road trips, but also to provide peace of mind. I’d encourage members of the public to have the check done on their vehicles, whether they’re traveling long distance or not. It is always good to have a general sense of the state of your vehicle and what needs work, or not as the case may be,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security; and Social Services, Alderman JP Smith.
In addition, the City’s Traffic Service will launch Operation Exodus on Friday 7 April 2017. This operation focuses specifically on driver and vehicle fitness in the long-distance public transport sector and will run until Thursday 13 April 2017. During the last instalment of Operation Exodus in December, traffic officers checked 1 034 minibuses and buses.
‘The safety of our residents and visitors has always been a priority and continues to be an integral cog in our Organisational Development and Transformation Plan. So we will work with other enforcement partners over the upcoming holiday period to help keep our roads safe for all and I encourage public transport operators and also the public at large to work with us in making this a reality,’ added Alderman Smith.