High police presence for May Day holiday weekend traffic

29 April 2016 - 08:48 By TMG Digital
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More than 1000 vehicles per hour were counted at toll plazas between Gauteng‚ KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo (N1 and N3) on Wednesday - and authorities are expecting roads and freeways to be even busier from today (Friday).

"Road users can expect high traffic police visibility‚ Intensified Pedestrian Blitzes ‚ K78 road blocks and road side check points on all Gauteng’s major roads as motorists make way to different destinations‚" the Department of Community Safety said.

High volume traffic routes have been identified as:

- The N1 between Gauteng and Limpopo

- The N1 between Gauteng‚ Free State and Western Cape

- The N3 between Gauteng and KwaZulu/Natal

- The N12 between Gauteng‚ North West‚ Northern Cape and Western Cape

- The N4 Bakwena highway between North West and Gauteng‚ and

- The N4 between Gauteng and Mpumalanga

Traffic authorities would also monitor other routes.

"It is common practice that motorists avoid using routes where there is heavy law enforcement (road blocks) and visible presence of law enforcement officers in large numbers‚ they also avoid tollgates use secondary‚ minor roads and also prefer to travel at night.

"Gauteng Traffic Police and other Law Enforcement Agencies will work around the clock to ensure safety of road users against all odds i.e. 24/7‚" the department said.

The "human factor" contributes more than 80% of road fatal crashes‚ including drunk driving‚ driving at excessive speed‚ reckless and negligent driving.

The department noted that the fatal accident trend has changed with regard to location and time - Fatal crashes have migrated from freeways to townships‚ and the crashes occur between 6pm and 3am.

"The deployment of resources is according to the identified challenges as per our investigations."

Reasons for crashes include unsafe and dangerous overtaking on solid white lanes or barrier lanes or sharp bend or curve or blind rise leads to head on collision‚ "which are mostly fatal".

The department warned that long and uninterrupted driving leads to driver-fatigue‚ accounting for "most single vehicle fatal accidents (driver fell asleep‚ lost control and collide with a fixed object e.g. lamp pole or tree)".

Failure to use seat belts resulted in drivers or passengers being ejected or thrown out from vehicles‚ also resulting in fatalities.

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