Road accidents on the rise – Pastors calls for Gods intervention
Road users urged to adhere to road rules and to be always vigilant
EVANDER – Statistics from the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison reveal that from April to December this year, 13 fatal road accidents took place on the R546 road between Evander and eMbalenhle resulting in 25 deaths, 14 serious injuries and nine slight injuries.
This resulted in an overall increase in fatal accidents by 23,07 per cent, fatalities by 40 per cent, serious injuries by 14,28 per cent and slight injuries by 60 per cent.
Giving the statistical overview, Mr R.G. Singh, Assistant Director: Safety Engineering, said in respect of accidents, head-on was the most common followed by head-rear, pedestrian, losing control, sideswipe and lastly, overturn, which claimed the highest number of fatalities.
“The prevalent times with the highest number of fatalities are from 6am to 2pm and 10pm to 6am. Most accidents happen from Thursday to Sunday.”
Due to the number of fatalities that have been experienced lately on the R546 road between Evander and eMbalenhle, the Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison partnered with local pastors to pray for an end to accidents on Thursday, 13 December.
https://www.facebook.com/echoridgenewspapers/videos/222191148666791/
The prayer was held at the Brendan Village turn-off. The road was closed for about an hour.
The pastors prayed for all road users, law enforcers and emergency personnel.
Apostle Moeletsi Seake said God’s intervention is much needed as many lives have been lost on this road.
He further called all pastors to encourage their congregations to be vigilant when driving. The prayer session was followed by an awareness campaign that was held near Walker Park Golf Course.
Mr Mountain Tau, Deputy Director for the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, said this road has been in the news for all the wrong reasons.
“We have held various meetings with stakeholders and it was decided that we must implement certain measures to mitigate this problem.
“We have short term and long term plans for this road which include a total transformation.
“To reduce travelling speed, we will install rumble strips and change certain intersections from two-way stops to four-way stops,” added Mr Tau.
https://www.facebook.com/echoridgenewspapers/videos/348240962626942/
