Durban - Just a week after KwaZulu-Natal government rolled out its festive season safety plan which included a massive clampdown on errant truck drivers, a driver has been killed in a truck crash on the N2 highway.
Emer-G-Med spokesperson, Kyle van Reenen said emergency teams responded to the crash scene on Friday morning.
"A light delivery vehicle had broken down in the emergency lane just after the KwaMashu Highway. Whilst mechanics were working on it, a heavy articulated vehicle ploughed into the scene," he said.
Van Reenen said a man, approximately 40-years of age, sustained fatal injuries and was declared dead by medics at the scene. Four others were treated for minor to moderate injuries and taken to nearby hospitals for further care.
Last week, Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube called on the freight industry to eal with errant trucker drivers.
"Negligent driving has taken many lives in the province recently. We remember vividly the horrific Pongola accident. The multiple truck accidents a few weeks ago claimed more lives. Our roads cannot be turned into mass graves and places of untimely deaths,“ Dube-Ncube said.
She added that the Road Traffic Inspectorate had a responsibility to make every road user accountable.
“We are exploring ideas around the spate of track accidents. This may include enforcing a curfew on freight trucks and redirecting vehicles to less busy roads. We are continuing engagements with the freight and logistics industry," the Premier added.
Spokesperson for the Department of Transport in KZN, Kwanele Ncalane, said the department has identified truck accidents as a major factor in their integrated road safety plan.
IOL