DUDS THE WAY IT IS

ACTING EDITOR DUDLEY CARSTENS TACKLES ISSUES FROM THE BOTTOM OF HIS HEART

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THE running joke in December was always that traffic cops needed to make their target and therefore they are the Paaie vol during the festive season.

I was told that that’s not the case and that the obvious reason for the increase in fines is the increased visibility during this period.

Make with that what you want.

What I do know is that just the other day the Western Cape government launched its festive season safety plan on our roads, deploying more than 600 provincial officers and over 300 vehicles to help manage holiday traffic across the province.

Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku haaked af: “One life lost is one too many. We enter this festive season with an unwavering determination to ensure that everyone is safe on our roads. Road ‘safety is up to all of us, so please follow the rules of the road and take frequent breaks...”

Wonderful and all, but here’s the thing: these “speed cops” are no longer just that. They are no longer just the boys in blue that have to monitor traffic, check for drunk drivers and make sure people drive safely. Their jobs have become far more than that and have even become dangerous — if done correctly, at least in my books.

I view these traffic officers as traffic police. And that means TAKING CARE of the SAFETY of road users. POLICING our public roads. One of the stories from this past weekend that hit me square in the gut was the killing of Karin van Aardt.