Traffic Service drives home road safety messaging
26 February 2025
The Department conducts hundreds of road safety lectures each year to young, enthusiastic audiences. Since July 2024, the Road Safety Education section hosted 1 363 road safety lectures and conducted more than 3 000 scholar patrol visits.
The Traffic Service’s Road Safety Education section teaches learners about all aspects of road safety.
Officers attached to the unit visit schools, or engage with learners between foundation phase and primary school level at the Junior Traffic Training Centre (JTTC).
In one of the latest interventions, more than 40 Grade 2 learners from Christel House in Ottery visited the Hillstar JTTC this week.
The centre is set up to help facilitate an understanding of the basic road rules in a 'show and tell' environment.
The Hillstar JTTC was established in 2008. In 2024, a second facility was opened in Mitchells Plain.
‘Our road safety record in this country is problematic, and motor vehicle accidents is one of the top ranking causes of death among young children. By teaching them critical lifesaving skills of being responsible road users, we empower children to stand up for their rights and safety, and that of others. It’s critical that children know where the safe spaces are to play, how to safely cross a road, and that they need to be strapped in at all times when seated in a vehicle. One thing that continues to shock me is the number of people who insist on driving with children sitting on their laps or standing between seats, despite the very clear and present danger it presents. The more young children we are able to reach, the more young ambassadors we’ll develop and hopefully we can turn the tide and make our roads safer for all,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
The Road Safety Education Unit conducts lectures where they address various road safety elements, like:
• Wearing a seatbelt when in a motor vehicle
• Safe places to play, e.g. parks, backyards etc.
• Places where they should NOT play, e.g. the pavement, or in the street
• How to cross a road safely (look right, left and right again)
• Where to safely cross roads, e.g. footbridges and pedestrian crossings, and seeking assistance from Part-time Traffic Attendants if they have them stationed at their school
During the visits to the JTTCs, learners are also encouraged to complete the circuit, using scooters and other non-motorised means, to help familiarise themselves with road signs, how traffic lights and stop streets work, and how to prioritise their safety and that of those around them.
Apart from conducting the road safety lectures and running the JTTC, the Road Safety Education Unit is also responsible for scholar patrols, Part Time Traffic Attendants and facilitating pedestrian awareness campaigns.
The unit helps establish scholar patrols by providing training to learners and teachers, and supplying uniforms at no cost to the schools.
Any schools interested in scheduling a visit to the JTTC or at their school can contact the Road Safety Education Unit via email at Traffic.Services@capetown.gov.za
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Published by:
City of Cape Town, Media Office
