N3 vehicle checks unmask 'significant' number of law-breaking drivers: Blade Nzimande

A significant number of drivers are not adhering to the rules of the road, transport minister Blade Nzimande said after 10% of more than 660 vehicles and drivers checked at a toll plaza were found to be problematic.

Nzimande was speaking at the N3 Marianhill Toll Plaza in KwaZulu-Natal during an Easter road safety operation earlier on Monday.

“What continues to be of concern, since 9am and the time I arrived here about half-an-hour ago, we had done more than 660 vehicles, that we had checked," the minister told eNCA.

"But 10% of them … [were] unregistered vehicles, vehicles that were not roadworthy, people without drivers licences and people that have been pulled aside for suspected drunken driving.

“So 10% is very high. It still shows that a significant number of drivers in South Africa are really not following road safety rules.”

Nzimande, however, said he was encouraged that nationally, road fatalities appeared to be 41% lower, compared to Easter in 2018.

He attributed the decrease to high-visibility policing and fewer crashes involving large vehicles.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Saturday that traffic officials had arrested more than 500 motorists and issued more than 65,000 traffic fines since the start of the Easter holidays.