Johannesburg - The carnage Gauteng’s roads this weekend - with 10 people dying in less than 48 hours - has prompted traffic authorities to plead with drivers to calm down as they take to the roads.
As many of the deaths occurred in the early hours of yesterday morning, according to the traffic police, load shedding leading to poorly lit roads may have been a key factor in some of the incidents.
On Sunday morning, a woman in her 30s was killed on the R59 in an accident near the Verwoerd offramp while travelling towards Vereeniging. Another person was killed and three others sustained critical injuries on the R51 between Nigel and Springs.
Also on Sunday, two people were killed after the driver lost control of the vehicle they were travelling in.
The car veered off the road and exploded on Celia Nestadt and Stokroos streets in Northmead, Benoni.
Two pedestrians were killed after being hit by cars in Soweto. In the first incident, a 45-year-old man was hit by a speeding Audi A3 on Reverend Frederick Modise Street in Meadowlands Zone 1 while trying to cross a busy road.
In the second incident, a male pedestrian was knocked down by a car in Diepkloof on the Soweto Highway before Immink Drive, allegedly because he crossed the road carelessly. It’s understood a metro police vehicle was involved.
In another accident, the driver of a Toyota Corolla was killed after his car collided with a Porsche on the N1 South in Buccleuch.
Four other people died on the R59 at the Vaal River bridge between Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg after a multi-vehicle accident yesterday morning.
According to Gauteng traffic police spokesman Obed Sibasa, nine cars, three minibus taxis and a truck were involved in the devastating crash.
“The recorded fatalities were caused by various factors: speed, reckless and negligent driving, driving under the influence, and poor visibility due to load shedding or power outages,” Sibasa said.
“The Gauteng traffic police urge drivers to take it easy, exercise caution, slow down in built-up areas, maintain the prescribed speed limit, look out for pedestrians especially when visibility is poor, and not to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” he said. “Take charge. Road safety starts with you, it’s your responsibility.”
The Star