Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi has called on motorists to respect traffic law as well as law enforcers.
Maswanganyi was speaking during the graduation of the first group of learner traffic officers to be enrolled at the Mpumalanga Traffic College in Mkhuhlu near Hazyview.
He says it is very concerning to learn weekly of traffic officers run over by motorists who refuse to obey the rules of the road.
Meanwhile a traffic officer was injured after she was knocked down by a taxi few kilometres from the college. The driver of the taxi was arrested immediately at the scene.
Disobeying the rules of the road as well as the traffic law enforcers has been identified as some of the contributory factors to the road crashes in the country.
The Department of Transport has raised concerns with the increasing number of attacks on traffic officers.
Maswanganyi says his department will come up with strategies aimed at dealing with such challenges.
Speaking during the graduation ceremony, Minister Maswanganyi says they have also noted that most crashes occur during the weekend. He says this can be attributed to drunk and driving and reckless driving.
In December alone, 223 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in Mpumalanga.
He has called on motorists to be more vigilant especially during the festive season.
Meanwhile MEC for Safety Security and Liaison in Mpumalanga Pat Ngomane says the students who recently graduated will be used to increase law enforces on the public road during this festive season.
“We need a lot of visibility and they are going to start immediately and those who are coming from other provinces and municipalities we were told that also they are not going to stay at home they are going start the work.”
Some of the graduates say they can’t wait to start executing their duties and contribute positively to reduce the road crashes.
Out of the top ten graduates who performed well in their different subjects eight of them are females.
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