No fatalities on N4 during Easter

MALALANE – On Tuesday afternoon TRAC announced another successful fatality-free Easter weekend on the section of the N4 which it maintains.

According to its spokesman, Ms Solange Soares-Nicholson, there were only 18 serious, but non-fatal, accidents. This is the second successive year this has been achieved along the 570-kilometre route, although this was one of the busiest Easters and despite a major spike in traffic volumes from April 17 to 21.

“There were three accidents in Gauteng, 12 in the Highveld, and three in the Lowveld. With the hourly traffic flow at Middelburg Plaza reaching more than 2 300 at certain times, this is indeed a remarkable feat which we attribute to excellent teamwork by all involved in promoting and monitoring road safety throughout the route.”

Soares-Nicholson added, “One of the key contributors to keeping the N4 fatality-free this Easter was the TRAC Easter Rescue and Road Safety Campaign.

This annual project saw the bulk of Mpumalanga Emergency Services and TRACAssist teams, stationed at Middelburg Shell Ultra City and smaller units deployed to strategic points on the N4.

This initiative went a long way to promoting road safety as it boosted visibility of officials and allowed road users to connect with them and the teams, and gain valuable information and knowledge on road regulations and safety.”

Soares attributed the team efforts of stakeholders and service providers to have been key in ensuring the efficient running of the Crocodile Gorge stop/go. “Although all construction and maintenance work on the N4 ceased for the duration of the Easter weekend, the stop/go between Nelspruit and Malalane was still active beecause of the very delicate stage of construction.

Although many feared that this would create major traffic congestion, TRAC’s proactive response to the situation ensured that all ran smoothly on this specific section of the road.

The contingency plans implemented in Crocodile Gorge included the reduction of the stop/go’s length to 2,7 kilometres, the lead/tail escort strategy, the on-site availability of a Van Wettens’ tow vehicle and policing by provincial and municipal traffic police and the SAPS.

In fact, these initiatives worked so well that TRAC has decided to retain some of them until May 6 to accommodate commuters during the coming long weekends.”

Soares-Nicholson concluded by thanking road users, “Of course such an achievement would not be possible without the cooperation of the road users themselves and therefore we want to thank all motorists for their efforts.

At TRAC we believe that road safety is everyone’s responsibility and the N4 will continue to improve and become even safer as long as this philosophy is applied by all who use it.”

On Sunday the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison (DCSSL), said the number of accidents recorded the previous year during the same period had reduced when compared to with this year’s numbers.

During the Easter weekend provincial traffic officers stopped more than 12 500 vehicles in various operations across the province. Motorists were issued with more than 2 900 notices for various traffic offences.

They impounded and discontinued 112 vehicles for not being roadworthy, including 81 light motor vehicles, two buses, and 13 minibuses. Fifteen motorists were arrested and the offences included 10 for driving under the influence of alcohol. Three more were nabbed for excessive speeding and another two were arrested after producing false documentation.

MEC for the department, Mr Vusi Shongwe has furthermore called on law-enforcement agencies to continue bringing to book those who break the law in order to save lives. “Most of the crashes are attributable to human error and this seriously calls for drivers to change their behaviour and attitudes. We will succeed with road safety initiatives only if motorists also play their part by doing what is expected of them.”