Eight ways to avoid becoming a festive season pothole casualty

Potholes are the bane of many South African motorists on a daily basis whether commuting to work or, in the case of the festive season, going on holiday.

Ways to report

“Reporting these potholes may help other motorists and even save a life. The Gauteng Department of Transport has an app called PotholeFixGP that enables drivers to report potholes,” says The CEO of MasterDrive, Eugene Herbert.

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Other ways to report potholes include:

• Vala Zonke a national app launched by SANRAL
• Pothole Patrol App includes a Whatsapp line (084 768 4653) for reporting potholes in Johannesburg
• JRA App (Find & Fix) for all faulty infrastructure reporting
• City of Cape Town’s C3 Service Delivery App
• eThekwini Fault Reporting Tool

“MasterDrive encourages all road users to download these apps and report issues to create safer festive season journeys.

Road safety is a shared responsibility and together motorists can make great strides in improving road safety. Help change the situation, rather than simply complaining about road infrastructure,” says Herbert.

Useful tips

To avoid a potential costly festive season because of the pothole scourge, MasterDrive as provided the following hints:

• Maintain adequate following distance and increase this by at least six seconds if there are many potholes. 
• Drive looking 12 seconds ahead for extra time to react.
• If numerous vehicles are moving around something, pay extra attention. 
• Avoid speeding.
• Reckless driving is even more dangerous on potholed roads: driving too close to vehicles ahead, swerving between lanes and intimidating others only increases your risk.
• Watch adjacent lanes as well. Drivers can swerve into your lane to avoid potholes. 
• Be cautious of suddenly swerving into another lane and, consequently, other road users.
• If you hit a pothole, watch for vibrations, pulling to one side, or unusual noises which can indicate damage.

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