What do two men in a white bakkie have in common with two other men in blue overalls?
They were all thieves, captured on the cameras of the Gauteng Traffic Management Centre (TMC), endangering the lives of road users.
The two in blue overalls were on the R21 southbound after Griffiths Road stealing drain grids, leaving a huge unprotected hole on the side of the highway, said Vusi Mona, spokesperson for Sanral.
“The TMC notified Ekurhuleni Metro Police and Sanral’s on-road services. They responded immediately and caught the perpetrators in the act, stopping the theft.”
In another occurrence, a twosome in a white bakkie stopped on the side of the N1 southbound after the Proefplaas Interchange. The camera showed them stealing a palisade fence, thus making it possible for pedestrians to walk across the highway, endangering their lives.
The TMC alerted Tshwane Metro Police who chased the thieves and pulled them over at Rigel Avenue and arrested them.
“These are but two of the high number of incidents other than accidents occurring along the highways in Gauteng. This can be seen from the fact that during the last financial year only about a quarter of all incidents related to crashes,” Mona said.
“Incidents cover a wide variety of occurrences on the roads such as stranded vehicles, attempted theft of Sanral property, dangerous driving, illegal parking on the side of the road, and more.
“The integrated annual report of the roads agency describes the on-road service unit in Gauteng as ‘a critical success factor’. It comprises 10 incident response units, 10 light towing units, six heavy recovery units and 12 medical response units. And important is close collaboration with the relevant metro police units of cities along the highways.
“Road safety is important to Sanral, as is the safety of motorists who may be stranded or are in need of help. Rapid response is vital in all cases and the TMC is a vital cog,” said Mona.
