DURBAN - THE Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) warned the public about the dangers of the freeway after yet another horrific incident where a truck collision on the N2 near uMhlanga resulted in the death of two men.
The two had been fixing their truck on Monday night when another truck knocked them.
“Once you get off a vehicle on the freeway, you are automatically a pedestrian and the freeway is dangerous for people on foot,” said RTI spokesperson Zinhle Mngomezulu.
She said the emergency lane was not safe for pedestrians, adding that people should always avoid standing on or next to a freeway when fixing vehicles that had broken down.
“We have so many distracted drivers who are either on their phones or listening to conversations. They sometimes steer to the emergency lane at high speed. People must learn to stay away from emergency lanes even when their vehicles have broken down.”
Durban Metro Police also urged motorists to use their warning triangles when their vehicles break down.
“When people go for a learner’s driving test, they are taught that they must use the red triangles to warn other drivers when their cars have broken down. Drivers need to start practising what they’re taught and this will make a remarkable difference in preventing accidents like these,” said Metro Police spokesperson Senior Superintendent Parboo Sewpersad.
SAPS spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele confirmed the truck collision and said a case of culpable homicide was opened at the Durban North police station.
“Netcare 911 responded to the collision. Reports indicate that a heavy motor vehicle crashed into the back of another broken down truck where towing operators were assessing the broken-down vehicle. Medics assessed the scene and found that two people, both adult males, had sustained fatal injuries and were declared deceased on the scene,” said Netcare 911 spokesperson Shawn Herbst.
There have been a number of incidents where people have been killed while attending to either a broken-down vehicle or an accident.
Earlier this year,Tony Richter, the director of operations at Hilton College, and his daughter Alice died when a truck crashed into his vehicle.
Richter had parked his bakkie behind his daughter's car on the N3 slow lane near Midmar Dam.
He had gone there to assist his daughter when her car had broken down.
The two were standing in between the two vehicles when a truck crashed into the bakkie that bulldozed into them.
Daily News