Traffic heavy on all main routes
2012-04-09 18:47
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Transport
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Johannesburg - Drivers were becoming impatient and irritated on heavily congested roads across South Africa increasing the risk of accidents, the Road Traffic Management Corporation said on Monday.
"Drivers are tail-gating and that can be fatal," spokesperson Ashref Ismail.
"Be warned we have traffic police out in unmarked cars looking for people who are driving dangerously and we will take you off the road," he said.
Ismail said it felt as if "the whole of South Africa" was on the move and that everyone was anxious to get home in time for the re-opening of schools tomorrow.
Adding to the risk was looming rain in southern KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.
"Drivers must keep at least a two second following distance from the car in front of theirs, this is to give you enough time to brake in an emergency." The roads under the most pressure on Monday afternoon were the N3 between Durban and Johannesburg, the N2 in and out of Cape Town over Sir Lowry's Pass and the N1 heading south between Polokwane and Pretoria.
The N1 between Bloemfontein and Johannesburg was not as busy but, further south, the N1 between Beaufort West and Cape Town was busy with empty returning mini-bus taxis. The N2 between East London and Kokstad remained one of the most dangerous routes in the country and he urged drivers to be very careful.
Ismail said that since the start of the Easter weekend more than 300 drunk drivers had been arrested, 200 drivers were arrested for negligent and reckless driving and 300 vehicles were impounded or permanently discontinued for being unroadworthy.
"Before permanently discontinuing a vehicle we look at basic safety features like the brakes, tyres and the steering. If it's dangerous the vehicle comes off the road," he said.
"Too often our country's most vulnerable people die in these cars and buses and we now have a zero tolerance for skorro-skorros," he said.
Ismail said the public could call 0861-400-800 to report dangerous driving.
- SAPA
