Jozi traffic soon back in full swing

236 10.07.07 N1 North near Nasrec road on-ramp, to Pretoria, where the was traffic jam due to preparations of roads that lead to Soccer City for the final match that will be played on Sunday. Picture:Itumeleng English

236 10.07.07 N1 North near Nasrec road on-ramp, to Pretoria, where the was traffic jam due to preparations of roads that lead to Soccer City for the final match that will be played on Sunday. Picture:Itumeleng English

Published Jan 9, 2015

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Johannesburg - Gauteng motorists can say goodbye to those - mostly - traffic-free roads from today.

Tens of thousands of vehicles are expected to flood back to the province over the next three days. And for those travelling back to Johannesburg, the metro police have warned of a zero-tolerance policy on bad driving.

Road Traffic Management Corporation chief executive Makhosini Msibi said at least 1000 vehicles were expected to enter the province every hour until Sunday.

This means Johannesburg roads will again be bustling with traffic from next week, so motorists should savour their last few days of relative road peace.

Metro police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said law enforcement agents would be hitting the streets in full force from Friday, monitoring the bad driving that he said claims the most lives during the festive season.

“Most accidents are due to bad driver behaviour: reckless driving and disobeying basic road rules,” Minnaar said.

ZERO TOLERANCE

Most people trying to enter Gauteng would be on the roads on Friday, he said, and that meant metro police would be monitoring all the major routes closely from the early hours of the morning.

“Metro police will have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bad driving,” said Minnaar, who warned against overtaking other vehicles, speeding and crossing solid lines on the road.

He also warned that because schools had yet to reopen, there would be more children on the streets, and urged drivers to keep an eye open for anybody trying to cross the road.

Transport minister Dipuo Peters was due to announce the 2014/15 preliminary festive season road crash and fatality statistics on Friday morning at a briefing in Cape Town.

Her spokesman Ishmael Mnisi said: “The minister, deeply concerned at the number of crashes and fatalities on the roads, has called on every single road user - motorist, passenger and pedestrian alike - travelling from their various holiday destinations back to the cities, and vice versa, to use the roads responsibly at all times in order to save lives.”

The Star

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