Since the festive season’s inception, over 84 000 vehicles have been stopped by the provincial traffic law enforcement, through various operations that have taken place between December 1 to December 20.
The spokesperson for the Department of Community Safety, Security, and Liaison, Moeti Mmusi, said about 35 drivers were arrested for reckless driving and 24 of those were taken in for suspected drunken driving.
“About 26 000 vehicles went through various weigh bridges. It was also during this time that more than 15 000 traffic fines were issued to motorists for various offences, including driving vehicles with worn tyres, failure to stop at traffic lights, excessive speeding and failure to wear safety belts.
“As part of enhancing road safety by dealing with vehicles that are not roadworthy and could be posing danger to other road users, nearly 250 vehicles were discontinued. About 600 vehicles were also impounded,” Mmusi said.
Macie said he is content with the level of law enforcement visibility in the province.
“We are satisfied with how the plan is being implemented and the level of co-operation among all stakeholders. Our law-enforcement officers and emergency personnel will continue to work around the clock to save lives on the road,” he said.
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Macie urged motorists to drive cautiously and obey the rules of the road, stating that they should play their part as road safety is not only the responsibility of the government.
Meanwhile, traffic peaked significantly on most roads with some recording over 4 500 vehicles per hour on Friday, December 20.
The routes that continued to record increased vehicle movements on Saturday, December 21 included:
- R40 (Hazyview to Acornhoek)
- R536 (Hazyview to Kruger Gate)
- N3 (KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng)
- N2 (Piet Retief to Ermelo).
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Buhle Matsoele
www.citizen.co.za
