Residents call on city to enforce speed limit on Esher Road

In response to the Dinwiddie community’s outcry over the high number of accidents on Esher Road , Sylvia Burure shares her daughter’s story.

She describes how a car hit her daughter on this road in March 2021.

As the number of incidents in the area rises, the residents on Esher Road have called on the CoE to step in and impose speed limits.

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Longtime homeowner Grant Brown claimed that on August 11, a car broke through his wall, the third time this year that speeding vehicles had damaged his property.

Brown also revealed to Germiston City News at the time that, in recent years, crashes into property walls on Esher Road have become more frequent.

He expressed concerns that the route has become a high-risk zone for pedestrians and motorists, posing significant danger to properties.

Brown recounted that during the first incident in 2021, a vehicle hit a schoolgirl on her way from school and she suffered serious injuries.

The NEWS reached out to the mother of the schoolgirl, Burure, who shared with us the journey of her daughter’s recovery.

The single mother of two expressed hope that drivers would use caution when navigating this road because it has a high accident rate and sharp curves that could cause drivers to lose control.

When she got the call about the accident, she claimed to be at work and immediately headed home.

“I assumed she had a small bump on her leg and nothing serious when I was going home. Upon arriving at the location, I noticed bright lights and ambulances,” Burure remarked.

“The paramedics were attending to her when I exited the car. I followed them when they loaded her into the ambulance to go to Union Hospital, where she was admitted to ICU.

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“On the way to the hospital I prayed, worried about her state of being. The fear of the unknown crept in.

“It was a traumatic experience and I was in shock. It was difficult for us because she had just started writing her first term exams and had to miss the remainder of the term.”

Burure said her daughter suffered two injuries to her head, a concussion, a broken hip and multiple fractures.

“She was in ICU and had to undergo hip surgery. Emotionally, she was devasted and was bedridden for three weeks.

She felt better when she started going for physiotherapy and started bit by bit walking on her own. In addition, a memory check exam was required by the doctors due to the concussion.

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“She claimed she did not recall much of it overall and that the only memory she had was of thinking about her upcoming test while making her way home from school.”

Burure reported that despite the injury, she recovered and returned to school, albeit needing crutches for a few weeks.

“She hoped to work in the pediatric ward after graduating last year. She was admitted to the adult ward during Covid-19, and the rules then restricted our visiting hours.

She was lonely and bored for most of it. At that point, she committed to using her talents to support youngsters going through similar hardships.

“She has mostly recovered now, but the scars are still there. I thank the Lord she survived the accident and could stand again. With the help of the EMPD, I filled in the blanks but chose not to press charges against the driver.

Although the driver got in touch with me at the time, he never fulfilled his promises. As a single mother, my attention was split between my son, daughter and job. I still feel thankful there were no casualties from the disaster, and I have forgiven him.

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“She spent a week in the high care ward following her initial surgery, moving from the ICU.

There was a lot of work and her visits at the time. It was even more difficult when she was scheduled for rehabilitation because the Netcare Rehabilitation Centre in Johannesburg was far away.

“Drivers must use caution and respect the speed limits, particularly when travelling on Esher Road, where it is simple to lose control. I hope that, as a community, we have learnt our lesson and will continue to push for speed limits to be installed on these roads.

“In my case, consolation came from Jesus, friends, family and neighbours.

“We are grateful for their help during this uncertain time. We also urge elderly students to walk with the little ones because up the road is Dinwiddie Primary.

“It is also teachers’ and parents’ responsibility to teach our children road safety tips to be extra careful,” said Burure.

Ward 39 Clr Jean Ingram said she has asked the community leaders to apply for traffic calming measures but has not received feedback.

“The EMPD has been requested to patrol the area, particularly on Esher Road, where these accidents frequently occur,” said Ingram.

“Speeding is definitely a concern in Dinwiddie, and accidents often happen on Esher and Hatfield roads. Drivers in the area have no regard for the road rules, and most do not even stop at stop signs.

“Ekurhuleni urgently needs to improve the road markings throughout the entirety of Germiston as well,” said Ingram.

The CoE said residents could apply for speed humps installation by emailing Thuso Nkotsoe (Germiston) on thuso.nkotsoe@ekurhuleni.gov.za

“This gentleman will send them the application forms. A warranty investigation is then done to determine if the speed humps are warranted, and if so, the request is added to the waiting list for installation,” said city spokesperson Zweli Dlamini.

When asked about the effectiveness of the speed bumps once installed, the city said the desired effect is to slow down vehicles to avoid accidents and protect lives and property.

“Residents are encouraged to report speeding cars to the nearest EMPD precinct. However, the difficulty is that by the time you report this, that car would have long gone. The speed limit in residential areas is 40km/h.

“The EMPD will keep an eye on the area as speed control is part of its mandate, but we also need motorists to abide by and respect the rules of the road for the sake of all road users and innocent pedestrians,” said Dlamini.