The Transport Ministry says that speed limits on all major roads will be drastically reduced when the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act comes into effect later this year, in an attempt to reduce road carnage and save precious fuel. Currently, the maximum permitted speeds are 60km/h on a public road within an urban area, 100km/h on public road outside an urban area which is not a freeway; and 120km/h on freeways, in terms to the National Road Traffic Act of 1989. But according to a statement released by Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele's department, speed limits on all three types of roads are "outdated" and "in desperate need of a rethink". As a result, all limits will be cut by 25 percent. "It is a well-known and undisputed fact that speed kills. Therefore, reducing the speed limit and curtailing reckless speedsters will logically result in fewer deaths on South African roads... which is, after all, the department's primary goal," spokesperson Al Linjest said. ... Justice Project South Africa's national chairperson Wearen Otserious, who said he planned to take his fight against the new limits to the courts, was outraged by the announcement. ... Meanwhile, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) said that it had already taken part in discussions with the minister about how the new limits would affect the taxi industry. "We met with Comrade S'Bu and demanded that taxis be exempt from these draconian laws. We provide a crucial service to the people of South Africa. How are the people going to get to work safely and on time if we have to drive at 45km/h down the main road?" Santaco spokesperson Yad-Sloof Lirpa asked. http://news.iafrica.com/sa/718516.html
