Newsletters

It’s Friday afternoon and you’re sitting in traffic, thinking about the exciting weekend that lies ahead, when you suddenly find yourself surrounded by a chanting crowd, pelting rocks at your windows and the cars around you. Following recent events and the upcoming nationwide protests, it’s wise to always be prepared for such an eventuality, especially if you are caught driving.

This month, the National Transport Department released the road death statistics for the 2018 Easter weekend. Transport Minister Blade Nzimande has announced that 510 people died on South African roads over the Easter holidays.

On Friday, 20 April 2018, the Department of Transport published a number of proposed amendments to the National Road Traffic Regulations for public comment. The changes cover a wide range of issues with amendments being considered for ‘tuk tuks’, microdot security and even the requirements for passing a cyclist on the road.

In April, Matrix released the statistics around distracted driving in South Africa. The survey was launched earlier this year and was completed by over 400 respondents and set out to gather information about the most common poor driving behaviours amongst South African motorists. The results have highlighted some worrying statistics and insights.

Sharp increases in the landed prices of fuels are set to hit motorists hard at the end of April. This is according to the Automobile Association (AA), which was commenting on unaudited mid-month data released by the Central Energy Fund.

Today, ahead of the 2018 Easter holiday season, Matrix - a brand by MiX Telematics – is raising awareness around distracted and irresponsible driving habits demonstrated by South African motorists, through their Distracted Driving Survey. The survey, launched in February, was completed by over 400 respondents and set out to gather information about the most common poor driving behaviours amongst South African motorists. The results have highlighted some worrying statistics and insights.

Finance Minister, Malusi Gigaba, recently announced that South Africa will see its first Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate increase for the first time in 25 years. With this 1% VAT increase, comes the introduction of the health promotion levy (Sugar Tax). Below is an indication of how the 1% VAT increase will affect your monthly shopping list.

Every great journey begins with some form of preparation and what better way to start planning for the upcoming holidays and long weekends, then by storing all the top South African emergency numbers on your phone, to ensure that this list is easily accessible.

On Tuesday, 20 March 2018, the newly appointed Minister of Transport, Dr Blade Nzimande, officially launched the 2018 Easter Road Safety Campaign, in partnership with the Department of Health, Municipalities’ and Taxi Associations, amongst others.

The long weekends are here and as we know, this time of the year is one of the busiest on South African roads. Before planning your trip and to avoid frustration and traffic jams, please take the following dates into consideration.