Expect congestion on major roads as holidaymakers embark on journeys

With Christmas just a week away, authorities are bracing for a surge in traffic volumes on major roads as more people start their festive break. 

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said from next Friday major routes from Gauteng and the Western Cape are expected to be more congested as travellers from these two economic hubs make their way to different destinations across the country.

RTMC spokesperson Simon Zwane said with the closure of many businesses this week and many holidaymakers having started their journeys, the next peaks in traffic will be on December 22 and January 2. 

“What we know for certain is that traffic volumes will increase, and this is expected not only on the national roads, but traffic will also increase in residential areas as well. A high number of officers will be deployed to ensure safety and facilitate free flow of traffic,” said Zwane.    

“Officers deployed to the roads will not be limited to those from the traffic sector. Members of the SAPS and migration officers will also collaborate with traffic officers, so there will be more police visibility than on an average day.” 

Thursday marked the start of the long weekend and the festive holiday for most South Africans after President Cyril Ramaphosa last month declared December 15 a special public holiday to celebrate the Springboks’ record fourth Rugby World Cup victory.

Gauteng traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane urged motorists to be vigilant and drive with caution as traffic begins to pick up on major routes. 

“A number of roads are expected to experience high traffic congestion starting this week until December 25,” he said.

The Western Cape has deployed 600 traffic officers who will work with the SAPS and other law enforcement authorities. Western Cape MEC for mobility Ricardo Mackenzie said traffic volumes had surged in the province.

“There have been several serious incidents so drivers must exercise caution. We have seen a number of drivers losing control of their vehicles after burst tyres, resulting in fatal crashes,” Mackenzie said.

South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) Western Cape regional manager Randall Cable said between Thursday and Saturday afternoon (2pm) at least 32,767 motorists from Cape Town had passed through the Huguenot Tunnel, while 20,375 cars were recorded into Cape Town.

Friday was the busiest day with 14, 682 leaving Cape Town compared to 12,250 on Thursday.

About 8,433, arrived in Cape Town on Thursday compared to 7,653 on Friday.

By 2pm on Saturday 6,423 had left Cape Town compared to 4,289 arriving in the city. 

Maremane said on Friday:

• the Pumulani Plaza on the N1 from Gauteng to Limpopo recorded 1,586 vehicles an hour, while 933 vehicles an hour were recorded travelling in a southerly direction;
• the Carousel toll gate recorded 1,693 vehicles an hour travelling north and 786 travelling south;
• the N3 De Hoek Toll Plaza recorded 573 vehicles northbound and 625 southbound; and
• the Tugela Toll Plaza in KwaZulu-Natal recorded 497 vehicles per hour travelling north and 836 south. 

Routes that have been heavily congested from this week and are expected to be congested in the next few days include:

• the N2 from Cape Town to the Garden Route, on the North Coast from Durban to Tongaat;
• N4 east — Pretoria to Mbombela;
• N1 north — Pretoria to Polokwane;
• N3 south — Johannesburg to Durban; and
• N1 south — Huguenot Tunnel to Cape Town. 

To accommodate increased holiday traffic volumes Sanral spokesperson Vusi Mona said the roads agency has suspended all road construction between December 15 and January 7. He said routine road maintenance teams would be on patrol around the clock to ensure roads are well maintained and safe. 

“The current condition of the national roads is between fair to good and, as a collective, we will be working with all stakeholders to ensure effective response to any incidents,” he said. 

Mona anticipated heavy traffic on the N2 and N3 between Johannesburg to Durban, which is a preferred destination for holidaymakers visiting the coast. Some will be using the N1, which connects Cape Town with Johannesburg and Pretoria and continues to the Beitbridge border post with Zimbabwe. 

“The N2 along the Garden Route between the Western Cape and Eastern Cape is likely to see increased traffic volumes as migrant workers in the Western Cape make their way home to the Eastern Cape. It is also a popular holiday route as people flock to the beaches and other tourist attractions along this route.” 

Mona urged road users to be on high alert, saying the most crashes on national roads were mainly due to poor driver behaviour, including drunk driving, fatigue, distracted drivers, speeding and dangerous overtaking. 

“While Sanral is committed to engineering safer roads, the co-operation of each road user is critical if we are to curb the spate of lives lost on our roads every year. We need to take individual responsibility to make better road safety choices.” 

Maremane said Gauteng traffic police with various law enforcement agencies had begun conducting intensified law enforcement operations throughout the province to ensure safety of road users during the festive season. 

“The operations form part of the provincial government’s efforts to ensure safety on the roads and eliminate criminal elements, while educating and encouraging road users to exercise safe road behaviour during the holiday season.” 

Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga said as part of improving road safety each province had been given a target to halve road crashes this festive season, “to ensure that we can move our country to a solid trajectory towards the attainment of the 2030 targets of halving road fatalities”. 

She said five provinces, which account for 80% of road crashes, would receive special attention and extra traffic police and road activators would be deployed to improve pedestrian safety. These are Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga. 

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