Blue overalls and a white bakkie
What do two men in a white
bakkie have in common
with two men in blue
overalls?
They were all thieves, captured
on the cameras of the Gauteng
Traffic Management Centre (TMC),
endangering the lives of road users.
The two in blue overalls were on
the R21 southbound after Griffiths
Road – stealing drain grids and
leaving a huge unprotected hole on
the side of the highway. The TMC
immediately notified the Ekurhuleni
Metro Police and SANRAL’s On-
Road Services. They responded
immediately, caught the perpetrators
in the act and stopped the theft.
In another occurrence, the two men in the
bakkie stopped on the
side of the N1 southbound after the
Proefplaas interchange. The camera
showed them stealing a palisade
fence, thus making it possible for
pedestrians to walk across the
highway, which endangers lives.
The TMC alerted the Tshwane Metro
Police, who chased the thieves, pulled
them over at Rigel Avenue and
arrested them.
These are just two of the many
incidents, other than traffic collisions,
that occur along the highways in
Gauteng. During the last financial year,
only about a quarter of all incidents
related to crashes.
There is a wide variety of incidents
other than vehicle crashes that threaten safety on the
highways –
including stranded vehicles, attempted
theft of SANRAL property, dangerous
driving and illegal parking.
The on-road service unit in Gauteng
comprises 10 incident response units,
10 light towing units, six heavy
recovery units and 12 medical
response units.
Close collaboration with the relevant
metro police units of cities along the
highways is crucial.
SANRAL Communications Manager
Vusi Mona said: “Road safety is
important to SANRAL, as is the safety
of motorists who may be stranded or
are in need of help. Rapid response is
vital in all cases and the TMC is a
vital cog.”
The introduction of innovative
technology to curb speeding
on major highways has already
resulted in a significant reduction in
contraventions.
Average Speed over Distance –
Asod – is the latest global trend in
speed enforcement. In the Western
Cape where it has been installed
from 2013, it has contributed to a
significant drop in speeding, said
Randall Cable, the Engineering
Manager for SANRAL’s Western
Region.
“This collaboration with the Western
Cape Department of Transport is an
example of how partnerships and
cutting-edge technology can offer
solutions for some of the country’s
most pressing safety issues – road
fatalities caused by speeding,” he
said. Through the implementation of
Asod, traffic authorities can move
away from the surprise approach
and encourage safe and sensible
behaviour among road users.
Asod is a method of speed
enforcement where the system
calculates the average speed of a
vehicle, measured from the time it
passes a camera, until it reaches a
second camera at a fixed distance
away.
The cameras are carefully calibrated, and the technology is able
to recognise the vehicle’s
number plate. Time-stamped pictures are taken at both locations. Should the vehicle pass by the second camera in a shorter time than what is determined by the speed limit, it indicates that the driver was exceeding the posted limit. The system has been installed on portions of the N1, N2 and R61 routes in the Western Cape. There are ample warning signs for road users that they are about to enter a monitored stretch of road with accompanying messages to encourage adherence to the speed limits.
Encouraging safe road behaviour
Cable says the Asod measurements are routinely used as evidence in prosecutions for speeding, but the real benefits of the technology are its ability to change speed behaviour. The concern is that road users only adhere to the speed limits to avoid punishment. “We must focus our efforts more on the encouragement of good behaviour rather than on punishment for transgressions,” says Cable. “Our experience with Asod shows that most drivers are willing to follow this
approach, while the technology ensures that transgressors are identified and suitably punished.” The statistics support this approach. According to Cable, there are higher levels of compliance with speed limits on the roads where the system is installed and a concurrent reduction in fatal crashes. However, speed remains a major contributor to road crashes and fatalities. The global and local evidence shows a direct relationship between increased vehicle speeds and increased severity of injuries. In addition to enforcement systems such as Asod, engineering and technology initiatives have been introduced by SANRAL to address the
issue.These include measures such as speed-calming road designs and the introduction of intelligent transportation systems, which include CCTV camera surveillance.
Building South Africa through better roads 