Residents of the Joe Slovo informal housing area at Khutsong complain that illegal drivers are putting their lives at risk.

Several residents gathered on Monday morning at a site where several fences and infrastructure were damaged the previous evening.

According to one of the residents, Thabang Buchingi, he was at home when a car, allegedly driven by a driver under the influence, smashed through his neighbours’ yard and then his own before slamming to a stop in another yard across the street.

It also damaged the fence of the yard directly across from his.

“I was sleeping with my wife and son when we were woken up by a loud noise after 21:00,” says Buchingi.
He rushed outside and saw the chaos caused by the accident.

The driver fled the scene on foot after he was assaulted by upset community members.

According to residents, the driver had been speeding before he lost control. His car, a white Toyota Corolla without number plates or a license disk, ploughed through a fence and smashed an outside toilet before taking down sections of the two other fences. The car went over a heap of stones before eventually coming to a standstill near a shack.

Residents complained to the Herald that this is not an isolated incident. They claim that there are several cars driving without number plates and license disks in Joe Slovo. The cars, which are all relatively new, are allegedly driven by illegal immigrants who, because of their status, cannot apply for the necessary documents.

“We are not even sure if they can drive properly,” another resident remarked.

According to some people staying in the area, they have seen and heard the car involved in Sunday night’s accident speeding in the area for approximately the past five months. They tried in vain to get help from their ward councillor and authorities to deal with this growing traffic concern.

“What will happen if one of these drivers kills someone? If someone was in the outside toilet at the time of Sunday’s accident, they would certainly be dead,” Buchingi complains.

During the short time that the Herald’s journalist stood at the scene, at least one car without a license disk passed.

The Herald took the issue to the Merafong City Local Municipality’s marketing and communications manager, Temba Fezani, but received no response by printing time.