Government must reduce speed limit in urban areas to 30km/h - Urban expert

[Fulcrum29]

Here is the solution,

get your engines ready!

 

[SuperMario]

I will never understand why the driver is at fault for hitting a pedestrian when they shouldn't be walking/running across the roads. I see it almost everyday where people are just walking across the road without even looking.

 

[Moto Guzzi]

Government must reduce speed limit in urban areas to 30km/h - Urban expert

The government should drop the speed limit in South Africa’s urban areas to help reduce the large number of pedestrian fatalities.

This is according to Open Streets urban designer Kirsten Wilkins, who recently spoke about pedestrian safety in the country on CapeTalk. The discussion followed the release of government’s Easter traffic statistics.

There were 235 fatalities on South Africa’s roads during the 2021 Easter period, of which around 35% were pedestrians.

Here is the problem in SA: The streets are treated as a circus/show grounds walking all over the place. I have seen multiple times as I start to drive some people start to walk in front of vehicle, not the rear as you move forward, it seems intentional behaviour, as if they were told to do so. This is a behavioural problem, the streets were made for vehicles 1st thats main reason vehicle owners pay for vehicle licenses, afterall cars dont drive on sidewalks.

At 30Km/h to not solve the problem, I want 50% off on vehicle licences.
So far the Red Tape just grows as well as the tax costs, and the problems grows as well=So how does that reflect back at the road safety leaders, I would say man go and have a lesson on ROOT causes and Problem Solving so you can solve problems, not creating more....The world cannot go on like this creating more theory and turn every problem into just another chronic condition, to irritate societies well in the future.

These problems are reflextions of serious leadership failures. Simplicity requires way more intelligence than complexcity.

 

[ShaunSA]

Because that's what other cities around the world are doing? Granted, they are European and prioritise pedestrians and cyclists and stuff is walking distance from each other.

Surely we should be aspiring to be better than those other cities?

At 10km/h we'd be saving that much more lives.

 

[rustypup]

He asked why 30 and not 10km/h.

Fair enough.

The comparison is still ridiculous.

Also: Why 10 and not 0?

 

[Fulcrum29]

We actually do have fines for Jaywalking, same as we have fines for these, but you think the officers know this? You think most South Africans know them?

• Ignoring pedestrian priority signs and not yielding – R500 to R2,000
• Failing to yield at a circle – R1,000
• Ignoring ‘keep left/right’ and other directive signs – R500
• Failing to vacate right lane of freeway upon signal of other vehicle wanting to pass – R500
• Failing to indicate – R300
• More than one motor cycle overtaking a vehicle at the same time – R500
• Doing a ‘wheelie’ on a motorcycle – R700
• Making excessive noise due to methods of handling a vehicle (revving, etc) – R500
• Hooting unnecessarily – R300
• Causing wheel of vehicle to drag/spin on surface of roadway – R1,500
• Pedestrians not crossing the road when it’s safe – R300
• Pedestrians loitering on crossing – R300
• Pedestrians who do not walk in the road facing oncoming traffic when there are no sidewalks – R200.

You know how many people argue with me about the last part? I mean this was drilled into me at school yet people don't seem to know it.

Maybe we should copy China,

If you jaywalk in China, facial recognition means you'll walk away with a fine

It's like an Orwellian fever dream.

futurism.com

they even issue it directly to WeChat where you can pay your penalty.

Smart

 

[rustypup]

Maybe we should copy China

Not. Even. As. A. Joke.

 

[BuckRogers]

The solution is to rename all the streets, the confusion will slow everyone down.
GPS of 2025: Continue to Mandela drive, turn left in Mandela Road, Turn right in Nelson Mandela Way, continue to Winnie Mandela Crescent.

 

[Dimpie (COMPUTEK)]

 

[Fulcrum29]

Not. Even. As. A. Joke.

My social credit will be bankrupt going by what I post on Mybroadband.

 

[Herr der Verboten]

Government must reduce speed limit in urban areas to 30km/h - Urban expert

The government should drop the speed limit in South Africa’s urban areas to help reduce the large number of pedestrian fatalities.

This is according to Open Streets urban designer Kirsten Wilkins, who recently spoke about pedestrian safety in the country on CapeTalk. The discussion followed the release of government’s Easter traffic statistics.

There were 235 fatalities on South Africa’s roads during the 2021 Easter period, of which around 35% were pedestrians.

BLM?

 

[ProfA]

You can drop it down to 10kph, wont make an ounce of difference.
Rather get the driver's that have no clue on the road, off the road.

As opposed to the pedestrians who have no clue?

 

[AstroTurf]

Lol this isn’t the US. South Africa is similar to UK law in terms of jaywalking. This means that this term, i.e. jaywalking, does not legally exist in SA. Pedestrians can cross wherever they please (even on a red robot) if they deem it safe to do so.

It is only illegal for them to be on a road or cross that road if there is a sign explicitly stating that, such as on highways.

A red pedestrian robot is legally speaking only a recommendation. Maybe unconventional by US standards but it works nonetheless.

So no, there will most likely be no ‘stiff fines’ introduced.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaywalking

When I was around 16 I had a cop turn his car around and **** me out from all sides for around 10 minutes for crossing the road without walking to the corner stop sign, Different times I guess (early 90's) but that always put me under the impression it's illegal.

Thanks for the clarification

 

[LaraC]

Changing speed limits will not help in situations where people ignore traffic signs.

https://mybroadband.co.za/forum/threads/bad-driving-thread.539111/page-210#post-24689556

 

[Willie Trombone]

When last have you seen a speed trap in the city?
As for pedestrians, they are their own worst enemies. How about policing jay-walkers. That would work surely?

 

[Swa]

Yup, this is South Africa. Of course is people don't follow 60 they'll surely follow 30.

 

[Swa]

Her basic premise isn't entirely off the mark, 60km/h in many residential areas is too fast in general. 30km/h is a bit on the extreme side in my opinion though.

BUT just reducing the speed limit is not enough, more has to be done around general road traffic law enforcement as well as pedestrian safety education to get the fsckers to stay out of the middle of the damn road and also to be aware of when to cross etc etc...

Most of the actual research is 30mi/h which is 45km/h. Stats show that your chances of surviving at 45km/h is markedly better though this is also where the usual speed is 50mi/h or 75km/h where your chances of survival is practically zero. We actually have some of the lowest speed limits. There is nothing to actually support 30 figure and there's also the opposite where traffic moving too slowly causes frustration and more accidents.

So, in your universe, the right hand lane is for camping and having a pot of tea?

The right hand lane is for overtaking. I don't care how fast you're going if you're not overtaking you shouldn't be there. This also counts for those other idiots who hoot at you when you're overtaking at the speed limit that's supposed to apply to them as well.

 

[ccj]

Bet you the speedcops in Hermanus will have a fines bonanza as there are cameras all over in those long strair steaches of of road.

In Pearly Beach there are speedbumps every few 100 meters to slow down the poachers in there bakkies. They don't care and just continue to speed, while people with sedans have to crawl over it to vaoid damage to your car. Sports cars cannot drive on those roads.

In Gansbaai the people just walk across the road without looking. If you hoot at them, you are the pig in the story.

Bottom line of the matter is people don't have any respect for the rule of law.
If the current laws cannot be enforced, how are they gonna inforce the nee rules? More bribes?

 

[Crayons]

I hit a chicken on the road today. The feathers were flying so gracefully from under my car.

 

[UrBaN963]

What these people miss EVERY TIME is that laws apply to law-abiding citizens. Criminals, by the very definition of the word, do not abide by laws, thus this has no impact.

Speeding drivers will still speed. Pedestrians who walk in the road will still walk in the road, and still be killed by cars driving in their natural habitat.