Pretoria - The Gauteng Traffic Police will be intensifying the patrolling of freeways, streets and public places in a bid to curb rising incidents of negligent driving.
Following the arrests of more than 25 speedsters on major Gauteng routes in the past weeks, the traffic police have indicated that their high-speed unit would be ramping up the presence of its members in marked vehicles, as an available means for the prevention of road traffic violations.
Gauteng Traffic spokesperson Sello Maremane said the apprehended drivers were found driving negligently and recklessly, and they had failed to adhere to the prescribed maximum speed limit of 120km/h on a freeway.
Maremane said speedsters were arrested on major freeways, such as the N1, N4, R21, M1, and N14, with the worst offender the driver of a white Porsche who was apprehended on the N4 freeway to Mpumalanga speeding at 204km/h on January 25.
He said the 47-year-old male driver was detained at Bronkhorstspruit police station and would be appearing in court shortly.
Maremane said another incident involved a driver found driving under the influence on the R553 Golden Highway. The drunk driver, who recorded a 1.02mg/l reading, was involved in an accident that caused serious injuries to other road users who were receiving medical treatment at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
Currently, it is still legal to get behind the wheel if your blood-alcohol level is under 0.05g per 100ml.
While the new National Road Traffic Amendment Act prohibits alcohol consumption by setting the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers at 0%, the bill has not yet made its way through Parliament and is still in the legislative processes.
Maremane said the speedsters were arrested on the spot and taken to various police stations, where they were formally charged with reckless and negligent driving as well as exceeding the general speed limit.
He added that most had already appeared at various magistrate’s courts around Bronkhorstspruit and Tshwane, while those arrested over the weekend were expected to appear this week.
“Excessive speeding is one of the contributory factors to road crashes, leading to gruesome fatalities. Driver behaviour and attitude on our roads is a major concern to law enforcement authorities, which calls for the strengthening of road safety education.
“Many of these arrested speedsters were found to be driving under the influence of alcohol, which poses a danger to the lives of road users, hence the Gauteng Traffic Police High-Speed Unit will be intensifying the monitoring of freeways and public places to curb the rise of incidents.”
Pretoria News