Warning: Avoid N12–R28 intersection
Police concerned about the number of crashes and crimes at the intersection.
Just two weeks after an article was published on the dangers of the N12–R28 intersection, yet another collision has occurred.
Five people, including a 12-year-old boy, sustained injuries after a collision at the intersection which ER24 believes was caused by a motorist skipping the stop sign on 17 July.
When ER24 paramedics arrived on scene, they found a Volvo crashed through a barrier at the intersection, and a VW Polo not far off. The occupants of the Volvo, including the boy, had to be extricated from the car.
Just a week prior Colonel Selvan Moonsamy, the Westonaria Police station commander, had voiced his concerns about the intersection and called it a crime and collision hotspot.
Although the most recent collision at the intersection occurred during the day, Moonsamy reiterated his earlier statement that the intersection is even more of a problem at night. He said the intersection is unlit at night, which makes for regular collisions that cause havoc.
In the evenings, the intersection is jammed with traffic for metres on end; drivers get impatient and drive recklessly, and this leads to accidents. Some drivers even go off-road in an attempt to skip the traffic – and that’s also unsafe,” he said.
Moonsamy suggested the installation of traffic lights at the intersection to prevent the traffic-jams that lead to collisions. He also recommends that lights be put up to increase visibility.
Moonsamy was not the first police officer to speak out about the intersection – Sergeant Linkie Lefakane, the Bekkersdal Police spokesperson, has also raised her concerns about the intersection, which is policed by officers from both the Bekkersdal and the Westonaria stations. Lefakane’s main concern is the many incidences of hijacking that occur at this point.
Police may be able to patrol the intersection, but collisions do not always fall under their jurisdiction.
Both officers urged the Westonaria Local Municipality (WLM) to intervene in order to make the intersection a safer place for motorists.
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Also read:
N12-R28 intersection problems reaching boiling point
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