Johannesburg - As motorists begin their great trek to the coast, across the country’s borders and to Moria on Thursday, road traffic authorities have warned that they will be out in force.
There will be zero tolerance on all major routes across the country, and if you don’t obey the law be prepared to be bundled into the back of a police van.
This is the warning from Road Traffic Management Corporation spokesman Simon Zwane, who said law enforcement officers would be dispatched to all major routes across the country.
“There will be law enforcement along all the routes to look at unroadworthy vehicles, speeding and drunk driving. There are roadblocks planned, as well as joint operations between various law enforcement departments. Local metros will also have their own operations,” he pointed out.
The SAPS would be “pulling out all the stops to ensure that criminals have nowhere to hide”, with the launch of Operation Paseka (Operation Easter) aimed at “clamping down on opportunistic crime and road safety during this period”, spokesman Lieutenant-General Solomon Makgale said.
“Operation Paseka is aimed at reducing serious, violent crime such as house robberies, vehicle hi-jackings, business robberies, and theft of or out of motor vehicles, as well as stock theft. As part of the operation, the SAPS will be mounting roadblocks on all major routes, conducting stop-and-search exercises, patrolling the roads and conducting surprise visits at second-hand goods dealers in search of stolen property.
“Other criminal activities receiving attention will be the possession of illegal firearms, and alcohol and drug-related crimes,” Makgale said.
ROAD DEATHS DOWN
During Easter 2014, 193 people were killed in 148 crashes; KwaZulu-Natal was the worst hit with 49 fatalities.
The RTMC said it was expecting much higher traffic volumes on the roads from Thursday, with increases in traffic flow expected on the N1 North passing the Carousel and Kranskop toll plaza as ZCC members head to Moria, Limpopo, for the Easter church service.
The N3 to KwaZulu-Natal was expected to be busy as travellers head to the coast. Higher traffic volumes were also expected on the N4 through Middelburg, Mpumalanga.
National transport minister Dipuo Peters said preliminary data from the RTMC indicated that there were 166 fatal crashes countrywide in the past week, resulting in 206 deaths. During the last week of March 2014, there were 297 fatal crashes, resulting in 313 deaths.
KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga recorded the biggest decline in fatal crashes and deaths in the period under review this year. The decline was more than 50 percent in the two provinces.
All other provinces recorded declines in road deaths to varying degrees, according to the SAPS and traffic authorities. The Western Cape was the only province in which deaths showed a slight increase, from 27 last year to 29 this year.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET CAUGHT
Wandile Dumakude, a legal expert at Lipco Law for All, said 65 percent of all accidents were caused by alcohol abuse.
He explained that a person is over the legal limit if his breath alcohol content is in excess of 0.24mg/1000ml or his blood alcohol concentration is in excess of 0.05g/100ml.
The general rule was a maximum of one unit alcohol per hour.
If you’re arrested for drunk driving:
Remain calm and collected. Don’t resist arrest or become violent, even if force is used. You don’t want to prejudice your chances of being released on bail.
You have the right to be treated with dignity and to remain silent.
Pay attention to whether you are informed of your rights and other things said by the arresting officer. You must, however, provide your full names.
You have the right to phone one person– a friend or attorney.
You may not refuse to provide a blood sample. The district surgeon, a registered nurse or prison medical officer will take a blood specimen within two hours of arrest and submit it to the state laboratory for analysis.
Follow the instructions of the arresting officer. Chances are good that you will be kept at the police station until you have sobered up, and you may be released with a warning to appear in court within 48 hours. You may also be kept behind bars.
It is important to note the details and the name of the police station you are in, your case number and the name of the investigating officer. Your attorney will require all this information.
The Star