|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
CAR FREE SOUTH AFRICA?Every day the newspapers, radio and television carry stories of yet more South Africans killed or maimed by one of the most dangerous weapons that the State allows our private citizens to possess. Children are mown down in front of their schools and homes and others are orphaned when their parents fall victims to these same instruments of death. Doctors in emergency units in hospitals countrywide are daily inundated with victims. In 1998 there were 511 605 incidents involving these lethal devices. In these incidents 7 260 lost their lives, 21 265 sustained major trauma, and a further 52 097 were fortunate to escape with only minor injuries. Each day too, the media reports yet more of these dangerous devices stolen from their rightful owners by criminals. Many of these are subsequently used in the commission of further robberies, cash-in-transit heists, hijackings, and murders. The number of unlicensed or in-illegal-possession is impossible to estimate. Even those in the possession of our law-abiding citizens have led to lethal accidents. All too often we read of children who take their parents’ vehicle to show off and who, through unfamiliarity, lack of training, or negligence, kill themselves, their brothers or their friends. It can be argued that many law-abiding citizens derive pleasure from these lethal implements and that many people are collectors who own them for their aesthetic appeal or as investments. Others require them in the course of their daily work, or are involved in one of the many sports that use them. Yet despite the rising death toll and injuries caused by these lethal weapons on our streets, and the horrific and graphic images that assault us daily in the media, the numbers in the hands of South Africans continues to increase. The proliferation of these lethal devices should be of concern to all citizens, yet figures show that 859 752 new licences were issued in 1997. Data on the number of vehicles in the hands of police and other government departments are less readily available. More people are killed by motor vehicles each year in South Africa than by firearms. Should we outlaw all cars? For
more information and resources contact: |