CPF wants 40km/h speed limit for Ballito

The Dolphin Coast Community Policing Forum (CPF) have welcomed proposed changes to legislation that will, among other things, see speed limits in urban areas reduced from 60 to 40 kilometres hour.

The general speed limits in terms of the National Road Traffic Act are 60 kilometres an hour in urban areas, 100 kilometres hour on public roads outside urban areas (excluding freeways) and 120 kilometres an hour on freeways. The new draft regulations propose that general speed limits be reduced by 20 kilometres phour to improve safety on South Africa’s roads.

The CPF have reportedly received numerous complaints via social media that people in Ballito were endangering the safety of the community, pets and children in particular, because they were speeding.

CPF spokesperson, Nathalie Struwe said the KwaDukuza municipality had to take a pro-active approach in addressing the speeding issue and change the speed limits as proposed in the new draft regulations published in the Government Gazette.

“By placing ample new speed limit signs of 40 kilometres per hour in urban areas we may be able to address the issue. However, we agree with Arrive Alive editor, Johan Jonck that practical implementation and enforcement will determine whether it will succeed,” said Struwe.

The Courier asked the Dolphin Coast community on its Facebook page how they felt about the proposed new speed limits and the vast majority of respondents believed new speed limits were not the answer.

“Rather put speed humps and cameras; that is way more effective than a speed limit,” said Christine Hillerman.

Arthur Bertram said reducing the speed limit from 60 to 40 kilometres an hour would make no difference to people who are already doing 80 or more kilometres an hour and questioned whether there was a major problem with road deaths within urban Ballito. The only road on which the community said the speed limit needed to be reduced was the R102 where fatal accidents occur regularily.

Other draft regulations supported by the CPF are for drivers to be re-evaluated when renewing a driver’s licence, no more than five people to be carried on the back of a bakkie, for children not to be transported on the back of a bakkie and for heavy vehicles exceeding nine tons to be banned from public roads during peak travelling times.

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