Approximately 70,000 vehicles were on the N3 between Durban and Gauteng at peak travel time on Thursday and Friday as the Easter weekend rolled in.
A further 50,000 were recorded on the N1 to Limpopo, said Simon Zwane, spokesperson for the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RMTC).
After last year’s quiet Easter Weekend amid lockdown Level Five, the figures are reminiscent of a pre-Covid Easter weekend.
“We planned for the week to be busy. We knew that there were no [stringent] restrictions – people could travel provincially,” Zwane said. “We would have to wait for all the numbers to come in before we can say for sure – but it seems to be as busy as it once was.”
In an average year, 1.35 million people die on the world’s roads and another 50 million are seriously injured. Most (93%) of the deaths happen in low- and middle-income countries, and sub-Saharan Africa is the global hotspot in the road death pandemic. In South Africa 26 out of every 100,000 people die on the roads – far higher than the global average of 18 per 100,000.
My PhD research into bioethical aspects of minibus taxi crashes in Johannesburg pointed to some reasons for this. It also revealed certain strengths in the South African road safety landscape.
Zutobi.com, a driver education online platform in high income countries, recently ranked South Africa 56th out of 56 countries in a survey titled, “The world’s safest and most dangerous roads.” The next lowest-ranked countries were Thailand and the USA, while Norway ranked first (closely followed by Japan and Sweden). The results of this survey have received a lot of media attention.
Picture: Nigel Sibanda
South Africa might have won in getting drunk drivers off the roads by closing bottle stores over the Easter lockdown weekend, but permitting on-site consumption of alcohol could have led to super-spreader events, with its impact to be seen in more than a week’s time. In attempting to limit the potential spread of Covid-19 during the Easter holidays, President Cyril Ramaphosa again banned the sale of alcohol but for off-site consumption. Taverns, pubs and restaurants could continue to serve alcohol until the imposed curfew of midnight. But it seemed some did not adhere to restrictions. In Soweto, a police operation.
Returning Easter holidaymakers clog Gauteng roads 05 April 2021 - 14:51 Provincial traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane told Sowetan that the N1, N3, N4 and N12 were the busiest routes by late Sunday.
Gauteng experienced high peak volumes of road traffic on its major freeways leading into the province as thousands of commuters travelled back to their homes after the long Easter weekend. Provincial traffic police spokesperson Sello Maremane told Sowetan that the N1, N3, N4 and N12 were the busiest routes by late Sunday.
“There is a high peak on our major freeways. The N1 freeway from Polokwane to Pretoria has high volumes. We are already registering about 3,000 vehicles per hour at Carousel Toll Plaza. The N3 from Durban to Johannesburg is also one road where we are expecting a high peak,” said Maremane.
âââ LUCKY NKUYANE 11:20 Sat, 03 Apr 2021 PHOTO: TRAFFIC SA
The North West province has deployed a large number of traffic officials across the province to curb crime and road accidents.
The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management s spokesperson, Oshebeng Alpheus Koonyaditse, says 545 personnel have been deployed in all arterial routes in the province during the long Easter weekend.
Officials in the province are not part of those who will be using body cameras and drones in an effort to keep a watchful eye on the busy routes in the province during this period.
Koonyaditse says body cameras at the moment are being used by national traffic police under Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).