What has happened to the Johannesburg climate? Here we are at the beginning of August and the Jasmine is out in the garden; the little blue Star of Bethlehem out in all my beds! The Points System has at last started in Tshwane - without much of a fanfare I must say. I would like to see the reactions of the first people to lose points.

Perhaps some stories in the press or on the news. But no – just dreadful stories of crashes caused by speeding, fatigue and alcohol. Such a pity these people were not noticed by the Metro Officers before causing the carnage. The new points system falls under AARTO (The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences). It was created to speed up the adjudication of offences, to get rid of the backlog in the courts. There will be no arguments and no going to court. So it should speed things up! * Each motorist starts off with NO POINTS. * One accumulates points up to 12 for offences. * Each point after that means automatic Suspension of Licence. * Each point means suspension for 3 months i.e. 2 points is 6 months suspension. * For every 3 months during the suspension that the driver does not commit an offence, a point is deducted. There are 1,000s of offences and they each give 1-3 points. One can go to court but one is liable to receive a higher fine or even a jail sentence!!! There WAS SUPPOSED to be an info: pamphlet freely available but of course ……. however it is hoped this will be out before the end of the year. There is to be a series on the SABC on people who have overcome difficulties in their lives and one of them is about me and the creation of Drive Alive. When I know the date of transmission I’ll let you all know. I hope this will create more awareness for Road Safety and what Drive Alive does in the field of education. It might interest you to know that in 2007 the Drive Alive Syabonana Drama Group gave road safety presentations at 114 schools in Eldorado Park and Soweto. Amazing isn’t it! We have also been busy all this year. We will handing out reflective satchels to primary schools in a few weeks and will keep you all informed. Safe driving – and keep to the speed limit. Remember nearly all crashes occur as a result of breaking the law. Moira