Apps, alerts and advice to help motorists navigate potholes this festive season
Motorists are urged to report potholes via official apps and adjust their driving habits to reduce risk and vehicle damage during festive season travel.
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.
“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 MasterDrive CEO Eugene Herbert.
The Citizen reports that other ways to report potholes include:
- Vala Zonke, a national app launched by Sanral
- Pothole Patrol App, which 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 potentially costly festive season because of the pothole scourge, MasterDrive has provided the following tips:
- 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, as drivers may 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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