Durban – As thousands of holidaymakers start out on their holiday trips, the South African Road Agency (SANRAL) has pleaded for caution as traffic volumes increase.
Despite the devastating floods that wreaked havoc, claiming more than 300 lives so far, the traffic on the N3 leading to Durban from Gauteng has been increasing every hour since morning.
In Durban, queues could be seen at Durban Station as holidaymakers commute to their home towns for the long Easter weekend.
The road agency has encouraged road users to be cautious on the roads to prevent road carnage.
Vusi Mona, spokesperson for Sanral, said the Easter Holidays period was an important time as many people look forward to travelling far and wide to spend time with family or simply go on vacation, which often poses a challenge that requires their attention as a road agency.
“As we have begun the Easter Holidays long weekend for the much-needed break, we urge all road users to be cautious on the roads.
Sanral will embark on a national drive to promote road safety over the weekend and beyond, through initiatives such as the WHOA! campaign that encourages road users to “stop and reconsider their actions before using the road”, Mona said.
He says Sanral’s road safety team will be dispatched to various rest spots along their road networks across the country, where they will provide travellers with some entertainment and valuable tips to make the journey safer and fun.
“Unsafe driving behaviours such as speeding, reckless driving, drinking and driving, driving while operating mobile phones and fatigue are known to be the leading causes of road incidents. A change in road-user behaviour can play a huge role in saving lives on the roads,” Mona said.
He said that as a roads authority, Sanral had a huge responsibility to take the lead in influencing the attitudes and behaviour of road users.
“This way, we create a convenient and safe road environment that caters for the needs of all road users. Road safety remains a key pillar for Sanral and continuous efforts will be taken to save lives on South African roads. Sanral wishes all road users a happy and safe Easter,” Mona said.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE