Issued by: Ministry of Transport
ARRIVE ALIVE TRAFFIC UPDATE THURSDAY 9 APRIL, 17:00
Traffic has increased significantly on the main holiday routes in the country today.
The Arrive Alive National Information Centre in Pretoria expects the traffic volumes on all national roads to remain high through the night and tomorrow morning.
Traffic volumes at 15:00 today on the National Roads:
N1 Settlers: 1 700 vehicle p/h Kranskop Toll Plaza: 1 400 vehicles p/h Pietersburg: 1 100 vehicles p/h N3 Tugela: 1 400 vehicles p/h Heidelberg: 1 500 vehicles p/h Heidelberg: 1 500 vehicles p/h N4 Middelburg: 1 400 vehicles p/h
The Weather Bureau in Pretoria has warned that rain can be expected in Mpumalanga, Free State, the Northern Province and North West. The demands on the motorist in poor weather conditions increase substantially. Concentration levels need to be higher and more physical effort may be needed to maintain vehicle control. "Travelling in adverse weather conditions leads more rapidly to driver fatigue and dulled reflexes put a restriction on effective driving skills", says Mr Perry Parirenyatwa, Director Road Safety Education and Communication.
He requests motorists to increase their following distances by doubling the two-second gap to four seconds, adapt the travelling speed to prevailing conditions to ensure safe driving on wet and slippery roads. Switch vehicle's headlights on to ensure visibility to other road users, especially pedestrians.
Arrive Alive will once again focus on speeding as this is a crucial contributory factor in the occurrence of the majority of fatal vehicle accidents.
A driver on the N3 at Ladysmith was arrested and taken to court for travelling at 220 km an hour. Parirenyatwa insisted that if you drive too fast you will not be able to take the necessary evasive action to avoid accidents.
An accident which occurred at two o'clock this morning in KwaZulu-Natal, confirmed the devastating effects of high speed. A driver was travelling at a high speed on a wet road, lost control of the vehicle and overturned. The bakkie was overloaded with 20 passengers in the back. One person was killed. "The other occupants are lucky to be alive, as passengers in the back of bakkies are completely vulnerable and have no control over the behaviour of the driver", says Perry Parirenyatwa.
Two people were killed on the N5 in the Free State at 03:00 this morning when a driver fell asleep and collided with another vehicle. A total of three persons died on the roads in the Free State.
Two people were killed when their vehicles overturned in KwaZulu-Natal.
In Gauteng, an intoxicated driver was killed while travelling at a very high speed.
By 15:00 this afternoon, it was reported by the SAPS that seven people were killed on the roads today.
Issued by ARRIVE ALIVE National Information Centre.
Telephone Numbers: Information Centre: 012 309 3669 Perry Parirenyatwa: 082 809 0729 Marleen Ronald: 082 807 1292