With the
increase in traffic on our roads during Easter, the Land Transport Authority is
again urging motorists to plan their trip, drive with caution and be patient
with other road users.
Fiji has remained fatality free last Easter and the Authority is counting on
drivers and other road users to help keep zero road toll again this Easter.
“Behaving responsibly and following the road rules will reduce the risk of
injury and death on our roads, therefore I’m urging all road users, especially drivers to slow down
and adjust their driving to suit the traffic, road and weather conditions,” LTA
Chief Executive Officer Mr. Naisa Tuinaceva said.
Mr. Tuinaceva added that practicing road courtesy can reduce the number of
non-fatal accidents that have been occurring around the country.
“If every road user were a little bit more courteous on the
roads it would make a huge
difference, as there won’t be as many accidents,” said Mr. Tuinaceva.
The Authority will deploy
enforcement operation teams to strategic locations, hence resulting in a highly-visible
LTA presence on our roads. LTA will be targeting drink driving, speeding
offences, dangerous and careless driving, use of mobile phone while driving, seat
belt offences, vehicle defects, unregistered motor vehicles and illegally
modified vehicles.
People who are planning to
drink alcohol are requested to nominate a designated driver, while drivers who
will be travelling on long journeys are encouraged to take regular breaks to
avoid fatigue.
“Don’t drive your vehicle
if you are affected by alcohol – if you take the risk you have a high
probability of being caught and you may end up losing your driver license this
Easter,” Mr. Tuinaceva said.
9 people have died on Fiji roads this year. The Authority is also urging
pedestrians to behave responsibly while on the road. Last year 24 pedestrians
died on our roads which is quite alarming for Fiji.
“Most pedestrians in Fiji treat road safety as the sole priority of the driver
and that the driver has the duty to care for them when this is not the
case," Mr. Tuinaceva said.
"Pedestrians must learn to be behave
responsibly on the roads. People must not cross the roads anyhow. We still see
people crossing roads while they are busy on their mobile phones, not giving
any care to the flow of traffic and this is a concern for us. LTA is counting
on all road users to help keep our roads safe this Easter.”
The Authority wishes everyone a safe, happy and relaxing Easter.