Building on the success of its December 2012 concessionaire partnership, the IMPERIAL I-Pledge road safety initiative has yet again provided N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) and Bakwena N1N4 with eight brightly branded vehicles, which will serve to boost route surveillance, patrol support and post-crash care activities along these busy corridors during the April holidays.
“The death toll on the roads is a major concern and it is our hope that we can save lives through these partnerships, especially during the holiday season when there is a dramatic increase in traffic volumes. Our vehicles allow for, among other things, an increased presence of law enforcement officials and quicker response to crashes on the respective routes,” says Niki Cronje, group marketing executive at IMPERIAL.
Reduction in crashes and fatalities on toll routes
In December 2012, there was a 3% drop in crashes and a 16% drop in fatalities on the N3 Toll Route. During April 2012, the same route measured a 19% decrease in crashes while in the December of the previous year reported a 75% reduction in fatalities when IMPERIAL first partnered with N3TC.
Following its first collaboration with IMPERIAL, Bakwena N1N4 reported a combined 30 crashes from 6 December 2012 to 6 January 2013 compared to 36 during the same period in the previous year with fatalities decreasing from nine to eight.
Improving route patrol and law enforcement visibility
Six vehicles will be operated by N3TC while the remaining two have been assigned to Bakwena N1N4.
N3TC together with Community Medical Services (a group of volunteer paramedics) and Angels in Motion (volunteer counsellors in Ladysmith) will be supporting uninjured victims of crashes as part of N3TC’s Duduza (meaning comfort in isiZulu) Initiative. One of the vehicles provided by IMPERIAL I-Pledge will be used for this specific purpose these holidays as a support unit operating in Van Reenen’s Pass.
Bakwena N1N4 has partnered with North West Provincial Traffic to man one of the vehicles on the N4. The second vehicle will be used by Bakwena’s service provider Pt Operational Services on the N1 from the Proefplaas interchange up to the Bela Bela turn off. These vehicles will provide assistance at accident scenes until the relevant emergency personnel arrive, assist motorists in distress, monitor and report on incidents causing congestion, investigate incidences of a security nature and report on reckless behaviour by motorists.
Protecting younger travellers
In addition to the N3TC partnership, IMPERIAL will team up with Women in Road Safety (WIRS) at the Shell Montrose facility with a supply of donated, refurbished child seats from 12h00-22h00 on Thursday, March 28th and Friday, March 29th from 08h00-12h00.
Informed volunteers from Wheel Well Centre and IMPERIAL I-Pledge will be on hand, dispensing advice and educational pamphlets to parents, and inviting travellers to make the I-Pledge road safety commitment.
Nearly 70 seats were distributed in one weekend during the December campaign. However it was found that some families were unwilling to take seats for a variety of reasons, including lack of space and children objecting to being strapped in. “There is clearly still a great need for education if we are to reduce the estimated death toll of 1,500 children losing their lives on our roads every year,” said Clare Vale from WIRS.
“A major part of our business is transport related so the lives of our employees, customers and the South African public is very important to us,” explains Cronje.
“Safer roads can largely be achieved by improving road user behaviour which is what our I-Pledge campaign aims to achieve.”
The vehicles have been provided by Europcar, a division of IMPERIAL.
Changing our behaviour to make a difference
“The call for safer roads is being made from all quarters but it is up to each and every person to take some measure of responsibility for their behaviour, whether they drive a car, ride a bicycle or get around on their own feet,” adds Cronje. Over 124, 000 people have made road safety a priority by taking the IMPERIAL I-Pledge and we continue to encourage South Africans to take the I-Pledge at www.ipledge.co.za.
The campaign has been endorsed by a number of South African personalities including Giniel de Villiers, winner of the 2009 Dakar Rally, runner up in the 2013 Dakar Rally, and four time South African Touring Car and Off Road Racing champion as well as musicians from the band Watershed.
Follow @IPledgeZA on Twitter or join the I-Pledge Facebook community.
About IMPERIAL Holdings
IMPERIAL is a diversified industrial services and retail group with activities spanning logistics, car rental and tourism, distributorships, automotive retail and related financial services. IMPERIAL operates in South Africa, Africa, Europe and Australia.
IMPERIAL is a major road user in southern Africa with its sheer size and geographic footprint putting the group in a great position to make a difference:
• 460 million kilometres were travelled by its southern African transport fleet last year.
• There are 5 500 trucks in the logistics fleet and additional access to almost as many sub-contractors vehicles.
• 96,453 new and 54,746 used cars sold in South Africa through IMPERIAL.
• One in every three car rental transactions in South Africa is made through IMPERIAL.
• IMPERIAL operates 600 vessels on the waterways of Europe with over 1 million tonnes combined load capacity, and transports in excess of 53 million tonnes per annum in Europe.
IMPERIAL is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, and is run on a decentralised management structure that actively encourages entrepreneurship, innovation and industry best practice. The company employs 40,000 people, who are responsible for the growth and continued success of the group that began as a motor dealer in downtown Johannesburg in 1948.
About N3TC
The N3 Toll Route between Heidelberg in Gauteng and Cedara, near Hilton, in Kwa-Zulu Natal is a public private partnership between N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) and the South African National Roads Agency Ltd SOC (SANRAL). SANRAL and N3TC entered into a concession contract in 1999 which gave N3TC the right to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the N3 Toll Route for a period of 30 years. www.n3tc.co.za
About Bakwena N1N4
Bakwena signed a 30 year Concession Contract with the South African National Roads Agency Ltd SOC (SANRAL) to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a 95km section of the N1 (between Pretoria and Bela Bela) and 290km of the N4 (between the capital and Botswana). www.bakwena.co.za
About Europcar
Europcar has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading global car rental companies; one which prides itself on delivering locally relevant, world-class service excellence with a dynamic and fresh attitude. Its payoff line of ‘Moving Your Way’ encompasses the company’s global strategy to be a key player in shaping the future of mobility, together with its commitment to exceptional customer service. The company, owned and managed by the IMPERIAL Group, has operated exclusively as Europcar since 2009 having a rich 34-year history with its roots as Imperial Car Rental. Voted Africa’s Leading Car Hire Company at the 2012 World Travel Awards – for the seventh consecutive year – the organisation is just as conscientious when it comes to social responsibility, and supports a number of programmes focusing on children, education, HIV/ Aids and poverty alleviation. Sustainability is also a business imperative and the company focuses heavily on the promotion of environmental responsibility, awareness and behavior throughout its operations, with the primary goal of reducing its outputs. Europcar offers a fleet peaking at 18,500 vehicles at over 120 locations throughout Southern Africa - and through the global Europcar network, offers car rental access to around 220,000 across 150 countries. Holding ISO9001 (2008) accreditation, Europcar holds a Level Two B-BBEE rating. It is a member of the South African Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (SAVRALA), and has partnerships with several important service providers in the travel industry. Then again, that’s typical of a Proudly South African company which believes that supporting everything local – from people to businesses – is critical to the future of this country.