|
15 accidents in 1 hour
07/06/2007 14:19 - (SA)
Verashni Pillay
Pretoria - At least 15 accidents occurred within the space of one hour in Pretoria's CBD, due to record rain levels on Wednesday, ER24 told News24.
ER24 spokesperson, Vernon Jovner, said that the accidents happened between 07:00 and 09:00, in various places around Pretoria's CBD. "There are extensive road repairs happening on the roads right now, on potholes and so on," he said.
In Johannesburg and Ekhuruleni there were several incidents relating to the rain. "We had ten accidents, mostly bumper bashes," Ekhuruleni metro police spokesperson, Superintendent Vusi Mabanga said. "One vehicle was swept away by the water into a stream, along the R23."
Mabanga said the man was unharmed and managed to swim out, but that his Isuzu bakkie would probably need repairs after being submerged.
Reckless driving
Areas all over Gauteng were affected by intense bouts of rain last experienced decades ago. In Johannesburg it was the most rain in 24 hours since 1963. In Pretoria it almost averaged the 1989 record of 36mm.
Accident numbers always increase in wet conditions, according to ER24 spokesperson, Riana Beech. "People don't understand that their braking time is doubled in wet weather," she told News24.
"But you can't just blame the rain. The person behind the wheel should have control of their vehicle," she cautioned.
"Visibility is decreased in these conditions, so if there is a back-up you'll only see it when you're right there, and then it's too late to brake."
Metro police spokesperson, Superintendent Alta Fourie also said that reckless driving was behind many of the accidents that happened during the rain. "People were driving too fast when the road was wet and when they tried to brake they slid and collided," she said.
"We recorded eight accidents around Tshwane and nine bumper bashes in the CBD," she said, listing the accidents that her unit knew of, including two trucks that jack-knifed on the N2 and on DF Malan drive in Pretoria.
Fourie said that there were "no fatalities" recorded around Pretoria on Wednesday by metro police, but said SAPS had attended other serious accidents caused by the rain.
The weather had cleared up by late afternoon, with no more rain forecast for the next few days. Emergency services have warned drivers to drive cautiously in wet weather.
|
News
