"THE MECS must kick butt!" This directive to the Provincial MECs comes from no less a person than the Minister of Transport Jeff Radebe. It’s a broad statement and was made in answer to a question posed to the Minister by myself on whether or not he thought a national policy of Zero Tolerance such as is practiced in KwaZulu-Natal should be introduced across all provinces – and be driven by himself. The occasion was the Shell Rimula Business Forum where selected guests were invited to "spend an afternoon with the Minister". The background to my question came from the Minister stating in his speech that it is "a horrifying fact" that we are faced with about 14 000 fatalities resulting from accidents on our roads. "These accidents are caused by various reasons, from unroadworthy vehicles, driver fatigue and unfitness, alcohol consumption and speeding. A lot of lives could be saved if all sectors in the transport industry and other areas could contribute significantly to the safety and prosperity of all South Africans," he said. 

The Minister said that self-regulation is the preferred option in terms of enforcement. "But," he continued, "if that fails then we have no option but to intervene and deal with those who contravene the laws of the road. These laws are put in place to improve safety and efficiency. Our emphasis should not be on the punitive element of law enforcement but rather the contribution such laws and regulations make to improvements in social and economic efficiency of the transport systems itself." Those sentiments are certainly admirable – almost ‘gentlemanly’ in their intent. However, while self regulation may be the "preferred option in terms of enforcement", it has failed dismally in materialising on any grand scale and my contention is that it is now time to, as the Minister says, "intervene and deal with those who contravene the laws of the road". The death of 14 000 South Africans on our roads also attests to that. We have the laws in place. In fact, our legislation ranks among the best in the world. All that is required is to enforce those laws. It is thus I asked whether a blanket policy of zero tolerance across the entire nation should be imposed. While declining to take up the reins in driving such a policy, the Minister - by saying that the MECs "must kick butt" – did, by implication, say that a tougher approach is needed in ensuring road users adhere to the laws of the land. So let the MECs who have perhaps also been adopting a cautious and gentlemanly line – or those who have done sweet zilch on any front - take heed. Your boss wants you to kick butt so get out there and kick it. 

But whose butts do the MECs kick? And in what direction do they kick them? I have a number of suggestions which I will document in our next edition but in the meantime, I asked my good friend and trucking stalwart Dave Scott to suggest some areas. Here’s what he came up with and you will notice that he leans more towards the aim of the butt kicking rather than the butts themselves:
"There has to be key statistical evidence of the application of zero tolerance. This has to be urgently set up by the RTMC and agreed upon by the provinces in a 90-day time frame. The stats have to be fed into the RTMC and should be no more than 30 days old. The key figures do not have to be either complex or lengthy but must show that action is being taken and then compared for the various provinces." He gave the following as examples of the type of statistics needed: 

• The monthly cumulative number of after-hour road blocks at times when it is least disruptive to traffic but when most overloaders and other infringers of the law like to operate – with a minimum number of road blocks required for the month. 

• The monthly cumulative number of overloading tests conducted and the ratio of fines to tests issued. 

• The number of road accident deaths. It’s a disgrace that there are no accurate death stats. Distinguishing between minor and serious injuries may be a problem but unaccountable loss of life is inexcusable. We do not have accurate body counts and each province and the DoT must be accountable for these stats. 

• The number of vehicles removed from the road for total unroadworthiness. Remember the FleetWatch BrakeWatch exercise? There must be a message there. This applies very much to taxis that are really unroadworthy at any speed. 

• The number of fines issued for excessive speeding only – not just speeding fines but fines for in excess of 160kph. Many passenger vehicles and bakkies travel over this limit as most cars are designed to travel at well over 160kph.

Scott backs his points with his belief that there are no stats  at the National DoT. "It flies on blindly without instruments but this suits the DoT because no one is responsible. Our major driving factor – the transport system – is directed by unaccountable people who can behave irresponsibly because there is nothing they have to stand up and be accounted for. 14 000 deaths is a vague guess. It could well be more because many do not succumb at the side of the road and die later. The last AA national accident audit was conducted in 1998!" His last suggestion is that once the MECs begin kicking butt and getting results, the DoT should publish which province is doing well and make the weak performers blush. "They get away with cushy jobs because they are unaccountable and have no figures to go by! It’s the lack of info that weakens the system and until things are measurable, we have no handle on the mess and battlefield of South Africa’s roads."

So whose butts do you think the MECs should kick in order to effect improvements? The Minister has, by inference, implied that the MECs themselves are not fully doing what they should be doing to bring about improvements. If they were, why would he say they needed to kick butts? So now picture yourself sitting in front of your MEC and he asks you: "Whose butt should I kick?" What would your answer be? Please send us that answer and we’ll not only publish your views but will also ensure they get to the offices of the MECs around the country as well as to the office of the Minister of Transport. And a big well done to Shell – particularly Frank Naidoo – on organising this event. It shows that Shell does not recognise its place in the market solely on the basis of the promotion of its products but also on its ability to develop and contribute to this industry. For this, FleetWatch lifts its hat to Shell SA.

Patrick O'Leary
Managing Editor