New humps are a hazard

Erlo Muhl writes:-

TO CROWN everything on the already falling apart road between Blood River Station and Vryheid town, life endangering humps have been built in front of the Altyd Somer Padstal at Scheepersnek.

My wife and I have recently travelled twice to O.T. Airport from Blood River, and apart for a rotten stretch between our farm and Sandspruit Bridge towards Utrecht, the route we took to the airport was splendid. Nowhere did we encountered such terrible life endangering humps as these.

Why create an insane congestion-creating barrier, for already enormously heavy traffic on a pothole-filled road insufficiently built handle this amount of traffic? These humps create a build-up of traffic with queues 10-15 vehicles long. After the vehicle-damaging humps have been negotiated, most motorists are so frustrated that you see them passing up to five vehicles in one go, even over blind rises and solid white lines.

Children and pedestrians are at risk as some drivers are bypassing the humps by driving on the verge on both sides of the road, also endangering pedestrians going into the Altyd Somer Padstal and coffee shop. Within one week we have met lorries and vehicles with lost exhausts and damaged tires through these humps.

Why was this tar wasted here not used to fix our falling apart road, and the craters, towards Blood River?

If common sense had been used, for a lesser amount, surveillance cameras could have been installed to detect drivers overtaking or not slowing down enough in, say a 50 meter zone, in front of the shop. The speed limit here could be enforced down to say 30km per hour for these 50 meters, a slight buildup of traffic would then also occur but not this life-endangering phenomenon which we have to live with now. Or have traffic police permanently in this area to catch the irresponsible drivers. Maybe enough money will be generated to repair our terrible road.

I hold the powers that be to be responsible for all the accidents caused for at least 10km on each side of these life-endangering humps, as abnormal driving is being caused for those distances through irresponsible overtaking.

These humps must be removed before the Christmas season otherwise the accident rate will be disastrous and the powers that be shall be blamed. We that are using this road regularly see the consequences.

I feel sorry for all parents transporting school children every day to school over these bumps and ambulances having to drive over these humps with dangerously sick and injured passengers.