The N4 passing through the city outskirts has been declared one of the priority high-accident zones in the province.
So said the minister of transport, Barbara Creecy, at the launch of the 2024 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign in Johannesburg on December 1.
As part of the plan, the Department of Transport (DoT) has identified 20 priority routes where most crashes occur based on collected accident data. In Mpumalanga, these include the N4 in Mbombela and Vosman in eMalahleni, and the R573 in KwaMhlanga.
“Stringent monitoring has been put in place to ensure the implementation of our law enforcement plan on these routes and others. The best research available tells us that most crashes occur during weekends, late at night and in the early hours of the morning. Accordingly, 24/7 traffic policing will be conducted on these routes over the festive season. Law enforcement will focus on ensuring that drivers stick to the speed limits. Traffic officers will also inspect vehicles and arrest those caught in the act of drunk driving. Law enforcement will also be focused on border posts that experience a large increase in traffic during this time of year,” Creecy said.
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She said the DoT is working alongside the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), as well as provincial and municipal departments responsible for transport and road safety, to ensure a safer festive season.
“All traffic officers, police officers and law enforcement authorities must enforce the law without fear or favour. Road users must know that they will face the consequences for breaking the law. If fathers, mothers and innocent children are going to die or be injured because of the actions of irresponsible individuals, then those individuals must face the consequences.”
Nationally, 10 154 people have died in road accidents this year.
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Creecy also outlined some road accident statistics complied by the RTMC’s State of Road Safety Report for the period January 1 to December 31, 2023. Nationwide, a total of 10 180 fatal crashes took place, which resulted in 11 883 deaths. Some 5 360 pedestrians were killed on the roads and 1 285 road deaths happened during the 2023 festive season.
Creecy said this number of road fatalities had decreased by 4.4% from 2022.
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Bongekile Khumalo
www.citizen.co.za