Traffic picking up ahead of weekend

A TWO-KILOMETRE bumper-tobumper taxi chain on the R61 between Beaufort West and Aberdeen this week showed how quickly the Eastern Cape is filling up with people returning home for a holiday.

Transport spokeswoman Khuselwa Rantjie yesterday spoke of huge numbers of vehicles expected on provincial roads this weekend.

“Last weekend we experienced back-to-back taxis stretching over two kilometres near Cradock and we expect such numbers to drastically increase in all major routes over this coming weekend,” said Rantjie.

Rantjie said law-enforcement agencies, including police and traffic officers, would be in full swing in all major routes.

Rantjie said they experienced “alarmingly huge volumes” of public transport vehicles and buses around Aberdeen and Cradock.

She said huge volumes were also experienced inbound the N2 route from KwaZulu-Natal, around Kokstad and Mt Ayliff, as thousands of people entered the province to visit relatives, while others were headed for a beach holiday.

The Eastern Cape’s transport, safety and liaison MEC, Weziwe Tikana, yesterday raised concerns that road fatalities during the festive season have remained “unacceptably high” over the years, urging motorists to remain vigilant this year.

Tikana said these fatalities were mostly caused by not wearing seatbelts, speeding, unsafe overtaking, fatigue and drunk driving.

“Together we can save millions of lives by ensuring that your vehicle is roadworthy, by taking frequent breaks when driving long distance, and by obeying the rules of the road,” Tikana said. —