The City of Tshwane has rolled out its 2025 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign in Eersterust, pledging to tighten law enforcement, protect lives and ensure that celebrations across the capital unfold safely and responsibly.
MMC for Community Safety, Alderman Hannes Coetzee, said the campaign underscores the City’s “zero-tolerance approach to reckless and negligent behaviour on our roads”.
He said the initiative forms part of Tshwane’s broader effort to “ensure that Tshwane remains a city of safety, discipline and accountability”.
The campaign, led by the political executive, comes as the city braces for increased travel, public movement and holiday festivities, which often bring a surge in road accidents and lawlessness.
Heightened law enforcement and visibility
Coetzee said Tshwane has strengthened its operational readiness through “intensified law enforcement visibility, coordinated emergency response measures and partnerships with provincial and national agencies”.
The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD), Emergency Services Department (ESD) and the Community Safety Cluster will lead joint operations targeting dangerous driving and lawlessness.
“Operational deployments will be data-driven, targeting identified high-risk routes and corridors where previous festive seasons recorded high accident rates,” the statement said.
Law enforcement officers will maintain a “continuous presence on highways, major intersections and township routes” to deter speeding, drunk driving, overloading and other offences.
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Emergency services on high alert
The city has also ramped up its emergency response capacity, stationing ambulances, rescue units and fire personnel at strategic points to ensure rapid reaction to incidents.
Hospitals and clinics have been placed on alert “to accommodate road-related incidents efficiently and effectively,” Coetzee said.
“In the Capital City, safety is a collective responsibility,” the MMC added, urging residents, motorists and pedestrians to “act with vigilance and responsibility”.
Public transport and freight under scrutiny
Public transport associations, freight companies and private operators have been warned to ensure vehicles are roadworthy and that drivers are fit to operate.
“Road users are reminded that fatigue, negligence and disregard for safety regulations endanger every person on the road,” the statement read.
The city emphasised that “the rules of the road are not optional, they are binding laws designed to preserve life”.
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Coetzee warned that those who flout the rules “will face immediate and decisive consequences”.
He said the campaign goes beyond statistics and enforcement.
“Behind every statistic of road injury or fatality lies a family, a community and a future cut short,” he said.
He added that Tshwane recognises that “the human cost of road carnage cannot be measured only in numbers, but in lives altered forever”.
“The city remains steadfast in its mission to eliminate road fatalities through enforcement, education and community cooperation,” Coetzee said.
Safety begins with discipline
As the festive season approaches, the city is urging all residents to travel with caution and respect the law.
“The aim is for this festive season to be remembered for life and unity, not for loss and tragedy,” Coetzee said.
He said the City of Tshwane “strives to ensure that every resident and visitor returns home safely and is ready to continue building a safer, more resilient and accountable capital city.”
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