Easter traffic stats: N3 pile-up regrettable, says transport minister

Over Easter 30,934 traffic fines were issued, 430 unroadworthy vehicles were discontinued and 1,625 vehicles were impounded for displaying invalid or fake discs and violating permits.

This is according to statistics released on Friday by minister of transport Sindisiwe Chikunga.

"Meanwhile, 1,716 drivers were arrested for excessive speeding, drunken driving, reckless and negligent driving, and operating public transport without permits.

"The worst speedster was nabbed on the N1 near Lyttelton in Centurion, Gauteng, driving at 198km/h in a 120km/h zone. 

"The worst drunken-driving incident was recorded in the central business district of Harrismith in the Free State, when a driver recorded 1.16mg of alcohol in 1,000ml of breath. This was 4.8 times more than the legal limit of 0.24mg in 1,000ml of breath," said Chikunga.

The department's traffic control plan was commendable, with only one major crash on the last day of travel, a deadly multiple-vehicle pileup in misty conditions on the N3 near Hilton in KwaZulu-Natal, she said.

"Apart from this unfortunate and regrettable collision, there was no other major collision involving multiple vehicles or more than five fatalities during the entire period." 

Hundreds of thousands of motorists travelled from urban centres to holiday destinations and pilgrimages, arriving safely.

Reports from Sanral toll gates indicated that there were increased traffic volumes on major highways leading to and from Gauteng.

"At the start of the Easter weekend on Thursday, Sanral recorded an average of 2,000 vehicles an hour passing through the toll gates. The highest volume — 2,287 vehicles an hour — was recorded between 4pm and 5pm at Pumulani Plaza on the N1 towards Limpopo.

"At the end of the Easter weekend on Monday April 10, the highest traffic volume was recorded between 5pm and 6pm, when 3,244 vehicles were recorded passing through the Pumulani Plaza into Gauteng," said Chikunga.

The top five traffic offences identified were:

• speeding;
• driving unlicensed vehicles;
• driving without fastening seat belts;
• driving without licences; and
• driving vehicles with worn tyres.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.