SLOW down, adhere to the rules of the road and respect your life and the lives of others.
That’s the message from road traffic officials after a weekend when the festive season road death toll on Eastern Cape roads jumped by 12 after deadly accidents across the province.
Among those killed were four members of the same family, including two children, although police and traffic officials could not give details.
The official admonishment also comes after outrage in various quarters over Julius Malema and Steve Hofmeyer’s excessive speeding violations on Friday.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Malema was clocked driving at 215km/h in a 120km zone on the N1 from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg, while the Afrikaans singer drove at 169km/h in an 80km zone near Bronkhorstspruit.
Arrive Alive provincial spokesman Tsepo Machaea was scathing in his criticism of Malema and Hofmeyer, saying their speeding violations show they cared neither about themselves nor the lives of other people.
Commenting on road accidents to date on various roads across the Eastern Cape, he said they pointed to excessive speeding, illegal overtaking and driver fatigue.
In three accidents on Saturday and two yesterday 12 people died and at least 20 were injured. However, Machaea’s figures excluded two further deaths reported by police from an accident on Saturday caused by thugs placing boulders across the N2 near Mdantsane.
In figures released last Tuesday, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) listed 57 fatalities in the province thus far this festive season, out of 550 deaths recorded nationwide.
The RTMC will release updated figures on festive season road deaths tomorrow, but serious motor vehicle accidents have already taken their toll on the province’s roads.
At about 4am on Saturday, four people died and 18 were injured in a collision between a car and a minibus on the N10 between Cradock and Cookhouse.
Police yesterday were still trying to identify the deceased, but indications were all four were travelling in the car and were from the same family. Two of the injured were young children who were passengers in the car, while the remaining injured were in the minibus.
Machaea said police were unable to identify the owner of the car, presumably the driver at the time of the accident, because the national vehicle registration system only had a post office box as the listed address.
He said officials were hoping people who were missing relatives would come forward and assist the police investigation.
Machaea said three people were killed instantly in a head-on collision between two vehicles on the R408 between Dutywa and Engcobo at about 1.30am on Saturday. Shortly after the accident, the car in which the three died caught alight and burnt out. A passenger in this vehicle and the driver of the other car were injured.
Three people died in a three-car collision on the N9 between Willowmore and Aberdeen at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
One person died in a head-on collision on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff-Reinet, while another person died in an accident on the R66 between Queenstown and Dordrecht. Both these accidents occurred shortly after daybreak yesterday morning.
Machaea said motorists not adhering to the rules of the road were a big cause of fatalities in the Eastern Cape.
He and RTMC spokeswoman Thato Mosena also pointed to illegal overtaking as the cause of head-on collisions.
Mosena said abuse of alcohol – by both motorists and pedestrians – was also a major contributor to deaths on the road,
She said while the RTMC was educating the public and making road users more aware of the need for safety, all South Africans had a responsibility to promote good behaviour on the country’s roads.
Meanwhile, motorists travelling on the N2 near the Mount Ruth train station near Mdantsane have been warned about a local gang of thugs putting big stones covered with white plastic on the road, causing vehicles to hit them as the driver thinks it is just plastic in the road.
“Then you stop and they take all your belongings,” said former Dispatch journalist Xolisa Mgwatyu, familiar with an accident caused by the gang.
“They took everything after the accident,” said Mgwatyu.
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi confirmed an accident on the N2 early Saturday morning as a result of boulders placed in the road had led to the deaths of two people. However, he could not confirm details. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
More die in road carnage
That’s the message from road traffic officials after a weekend when the festive season road death toll on Eastern Cape roads jumped by 12 after deadly accidents across the province.
Among those killed were four members of the same family, including two children, although police and traffic officials could not give details.
The official admonishment also comes after outrage in various quarters over Julius Malema and Steve Hofmeyer’s excessive speeding violations on Friday.
Economic Freedom Fighters leader Malema was clocked driving at 215km/h in a 120km zone on the N1 from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg, while the Afrikaans singer drove at 169km/h in an 80km zone near Bronkhorstspruit.
Arrive Alive provincial spokesman Tsepo Machaea was scathing in his criticism of Malema and Hofmeyer, saying their speeding violations show they cared neither about themselves nor the lives of other people.
Commenting on road accidents to date on various roads across the Eastern Cape, he said they pointed to excessive speeding, illegal overtaking and driver fatigue.
In three accidents on Saturday and two yesterday 12 people died and at least 20 were injured. However, Machaea’s figures excluded two further deaths reported by police from an accident on Saturday caused by thugs placing boulders across the N2 near Mdantsane.
In figures released last Tuesday, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) listed 57 fatalities in the province thus far this festive season, out of 550 deaths recorded nationwide.
The RTMC will release updated figures on festive season road deaths tomorrow, but serious motor vehicle accidents have already taken their toll on the province’s roads.
At about 4am on Saturday, four people died and 18 were injured in a collision between a car and a minibus on the N10 between Cradock and Cookhouse.
Police yesterday were still trying to identify the deceased, but indications were all four were travelling in the car and were from the same family. Two of the injured were young children who were passengers in the car, while the remaining injured were in the minibus.
Machaea said police were unable to identify the owner of the car, presumably the driver at the time of the accident, because the national vehicle registration system only had a post office box as the listed address.
He said officials were hoping people who were missing relatives would come forward and assist the police investigation.
Machaea said three people were killed instantly in a head-on collision between two vehicles on the R408 between Dutywa and Engcobo at about 1.30am on Saturday. Shortly after the accident, the car in which the three died caught alight and burnt out. A passenger in this vehicle and the driver of the other car were injured.
Three people died in a three-car collision on the N9 between Willowmore and Aberdeen at about 3pm on Saturday afternoon.
One person died in a head-on collision on the R61 between Cradock and Graaff-Reinet, while another person died in an accident on the R66 between Queenstown and Dordrecht. Both these accidents occurred shortly after daybreak yesterday morning.
Machaea said motorists not adhering to the rules of the road were a big cause of fatalities in the Eastern Cape.
He and RTMC spokeswoman Thato Mosena also pointed to illegal overtaking as the cause of head-on collisions.
Mosena said abuse of alcohol – by both motorists and pedestrians – was also a major contributor to deaths on the road,
She said while the RTMC was educating the public and making road users more aware of the need for safety, all South Africans had a responsibility to promote good behaviour on the country’s roads.
Meanwhile, motorists travelling on the N2 near the Mount Ruth train station near Mdantsane have been warned about a local gang of thugs putting big stones covered with white plastic on the road, causing vehicles to hit them as the driver thinks it is just plastic in the road.
“Then you stop and they take all your belongings,” said former Dispatch journalist Xolisa Mgwatyu, familiar with an accident caused by the gang.
“They took everything after the accident,” said Mgwatyu.
Police spokesman Captain Mluleki Mbi confirmed an accident on the N2 early Saturday morning as a result of boulders placed in the road had led to the deaths of two people. However, he could not confirm details. — rayh@dispatch.co.za
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