SASOLBURG – The Executive Mayor of Metsimaholo Local Municipality (MLM) Jeff Zwane, joined the launch of Road Safety Easter Launch that took place on R57.
Zwane was flanked by traffic police, several stakeholders and staffers from his office during various roadblocks conducted in his municipality.
During the launch, Zwane said various roadblocks, as well as other safety operations, will be held by Law Enforcement and SAPS over the Easter weekend.
He told the paper that the aim of these roadblocks is to increase driver awareness and reduce road carnages.
During the safer Easter campaigns, vehicles will be checked for road worthiness as well as valid driver licenses.
Zwane interacted with the vehicle drivers who were making their way to different destinations for holiday making and pilgrimages.
During the interactions, the number one citizen of MLM reminded motorists of the importance of responsible driving.
“My emphasizes will be to remind the drivers that they should be extra vigilant on the roads, and always be considerate of other vehicles. Drinking and driving is considered a crime in our country and no drive should drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs,” he said.
Zwane said the safety message also goes out to the pedestrians, not just motorists.
“Let us all be responsible and be safe this Easter weekend. To the long-distance drivers, I just want to remind you on the importance of taking breaks and stopping when feeling tired,” he said.
Zaine Mkhize (46), a motorist said “it’s always good seeing public figures coming out to engage with us during these holidays. However, it would be nice to see such safer campaigns being done more often on our roads”.
Another motorist, Shaun Fred (38) said “I sometimes forget the season and the holidays we faced with, but when I see such roadblocks being conducted, I know one must be super vigilant and be considerate to long distance road users. This is a good initiative and should be practised more often”.