Easter Weekend sees some serious accidents in Lowveld, though fewer than 2022
There were fewer road fatalities and crashes reported in the province over this year's Easter Weekend, compared to last year.
While Mpumalanga’s roads were as busy as expected over the Easter Weekend, there were only a few serious accidents and no major road fatalities in the Lowveld.
This is according to both TRAC and the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison.
TRAC’s Solange Soares said a significant increase in traffic was experienced along the Maputo Corridor over the four days of the long weekend.
“Traffic volumes were exceptionally high on both the South African and Mozambican sides, with the Middelburg and Nkomazi plazas being the busiest throughout the period,” she said.
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The Lowveld section of the N4 recorded 12 accidents, three of which were serious, but no fatalities. Seventeen accidents occurred in the Highveld, 10 of which were serious, with two deaths. The Mozambique route had seven vehicle crashes, with only one of the accidents labelled as serious, and no fatalities.
“As predicted, traffic peaked last Thursday afternoon, Friday morning and on Monday after 11:00,” Soares said.
The DCSSL’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, told Lowvelder the department had not received any reports of major accidents in the Lowveld. Mmusi believes the road safety and law enforcement activations the department had put into place were a factor that kept the roads safe.
He said the incidents had over the long weekend were a decrease from last year’s figures. According to the statistics, between April 6 and 10, there was a slight decline in crashes and injuries.
Mmusi said 101 crashes were recorded on various roads in Mpumalanga compared to last year’s 106 crashes. Seventeen people lost their lives on Mpumalanga roads this year, while 23 deaths were recorded last year.
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“The province had 15 fatal crashes as compared to 18 during the previous Easter holidays.”
Mmsui said the road fatalities included seven passengers, three drivers and seven pedestrians. The previous Easter, only five pedestrians were killed. Meanwhile, 77 people sustained serious injuries as compared to 76 last year.
“The Nkangala and Gert Sibande regions registered the highest number of road deaths, six each. Ehlanzeni recorded five fatalities. The statistics have further revealed that municipal roads recorded a high number of crashes, followed by the N4 toll road, N17, N2 and R571 roads.”
Meanwhile, over 24 000 vehicles were stopped on various Mpumalanga roads and over 5 000 drivers were issued with summonses for various offences, ranging from reckless and negligent driving to defects in vehicles.
Mmusi said 40 people were also arrested for drinking and driving. About 69 vehicles were discontinued, and 109 impounded for various defects. The N4, N3, N2, R536, R573 and R40 were among the busiest roads during this period, and law enforcement officers were deployed on a 24-hour shift basis from April 6 to 11.
He said the department believes this may have played a major role in buffering the impact of high traffic volumes associated with Easter traffic, and also a reduction in crashes and fatalities.
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Soares said that to buffer the risks associated with the increased traffic volumes, the TRAC Helpdesk and TRACAssist partnered with the bulk of provincial and private emergency services, law enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders.
“This formed part of the TRAC N4 Easter 2023 Road Safety and Swift Response Campaign, which aimed to reduce response times to roadside emergencies and incidents.
“TRAC thanks all stakeholders (state and private) who participated in this campaign. Your co-operation went a long way in regulating traffic and keeping the road safe for all road users.”
Despite TRAC’s efforts to avoid delays along the route, traffic backlogs were experienced on certain sections of the N4 due to a combination of high traffic volumes, road improvement construction sites and accidents.
“TRAC would like to thank road users for their patience during these delays, and reminds them that planning one’s trip, especially during peak traffic times, is imperative to avoid such frustrations,” Soares said.
