DURBAN – The Road Accident Fund has released a list of 10 of the most dangerous roads in South Africa.
Topping the list is the N2 between East London and Umtata. Coming in at second place is the N2 between Umtata and Kokstad while the N1 between Mokopane and Polokwane takes third spot. The N1 is listed three more times on the list.
At the start of December, four people were killed while eight more were injured in a crash on the N1 south of Mokopane.
“When ER24 paramedics arrived at the scene shortly before 1am, they found the front end of a vehicle stuck underneath the rear of a truck. Upon further assessment, it was found that four people were entrapped in the vehicle. Unfortunately, all four of them had sustained fatal injuries and were declared dead at the scene,” said ER24 spokesperson, Ineke van Huyssteen.
With four routes falling in the Limpopo province, the DA is calling on the MEC to ensure her department is out in full force and with increased visibility on all our main roads during the festive season.
“During the December holidays in 2020, Limpopo’s fatalities on the roads declined with 8.3 percentage points to 188 compared to 205 in 2019,” said DA spokesperson on transport and community safety, Katlego Phala.
“We call on all motorists to make road safety their number one priority by sticking to the speed limit at all times, not to drink and drive or use phones whilst driving and to exercise patience.
“Most accidents can be avoided by obeying the rules of the road and an increased vigilance by drivers,” Phala said.
Meanwhile, Road Traffic Management Corporations spokesperson, Simon Zwane, said it is part of the law enforcement operations to deploy officers on all identified hazardous route segments to ensure safety of pedestrians, passengers and drivers.
Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, is expected to launch the department’s festive season road safety campaign early next week.
The festive season road safety awareness campaign is a government programme that aims to prioritise and promote safer road usage during the high peak season on South African roads.
The objective of the campaign is not only to ensure smooth flows of traffic, but also to prevent negligent and reckless driving which could result in road crashes, injuries and fatalities. The road safety launch is a collaboration between different levels of government, transport entities led by CEOs, private sector organisations, NGOs and key stakeholders and role players.
IOL