Disobedient road users in General Street cause for concern
The problem is one that needs to be seriously addressed as this has been a continuous issue over the years.
On Monday, the second accident in less than a month occurred at the same location in General Street at the turn-off to SAVF Kleutervriend. This time a mother in a Kia, 29 weeks pregnant, was waiting to turn into a parking bay at the school to drop off her daughter.
She had indicated that she was about to turn right and was busy to do so when a Corsa bakkie with a Gauteng number plate overtook her in the lane of the oncoming traffic. This resulted in the Corsa crashing into the Kia and missing the oncoming traffic by a hair’s breadth. The driver of the Corsa lost control and his vehicle ended up across the street on the premises of the caravan park.
Luckily the little girl was strapped into her car seat. Apart from shock all parties involved escape unharmed, but the mother was taken to hospital to be examined.
The problem, however, is one that needs to be seriously addressed as this has been a continuous issue over the years.
Principal of SAVF Kleutervriend, Liana Nieuwenhuis said, “We are grateful that in both cases the children were strapped to their car seats and that no serious injuries occurred. This issue is one that has repeatedly been raised in the past. Many drivers using General Street do not adhere to the rules of the road, but race at incredible speeds and not keeping their following distance. On behalf of everyone involved with the school, I would like to convey a thank you to the local authorities for their quick response during such incidents. We trust that the parties concerned with traffic and safety at Umjindi Municipality will give this challenging problem their urgent attention.”
Barberton Times e-mailed the director of community services Comfort Makhanya, the municipal manager, Patrick Msibi and Sam Jele, spokesperson for Umjindi Municipality to find out what steps would be taken by the municipality to prevent accidents at this specific spot in future.
We also proposed that the municipality should have a traffic official visible during peak hours as we believe their presence will certainly deter disobedient road users from taking chances.
No reply has been received by the municipality on Monday at 20:30.
