Motorists warned of slow driving dangers
Drivers have been warned against driving too slowly particularly on highways as it can be hazardous, even life-threatening.
Concerned by risks posed by slow-moving motor vehicles on public roads, particularly along the highways, the police have resolved to intensify public education to promote safety amongst road users.
Quizzed on this matter, the director of traffic, Senior Assistant Commissioner, Katlholo Mosimanegape disclosed to have observed that road fatalities related to slow driving are increasing hence becoming a concern.
Mosimanegape said they do not want to appear as if they condone speeding but motorists should know that driving at very slow speeds, especially on highways, could cause unnecessary fatal accidents. He stated that most road accidents are due to bad attitudes by motorists like driving at very slow speeds on the highway.
“There are some roads with a highspeed limit of 120km/h hence driving along these roads, motorists should know that driving too slowly could cause accidents because some drivers, especially those travelling long distances might get impatient and try to overtake even at blind spots.
Some of the accidents could be easily avoided if road users could exercise patience and pay more attention to road traffic signs and regulations,” he said. Mosimanegape further stated that driving very slow on the highway could cause traffic congestion leading to unnecessary accidents because other motorists might get irritated. He added that speed limits are not obeyed and road signs continue to be ignored. He stated to have resolved to intensify public education because they have observed that the majority of motorists do not take the courtesy to allow traffic to pass.
The traffic boss stated that the volume of traffic on the road has increased as the majority of people own cars and most of the highways are not dual roads hence the need to obey highway speed limits. “Driving very slowly on the highway is risky. I am pleading with motorists who prefer to drive at very slow speed to always allow traffic to flow by stopping by the roadside and allow those in a hurry to pass.
This is a serious concern that we will be enforcing on this year amongst other road traffic enforcements,” Mosimanegape said. Furthermore, he said they are concerned by the high number of road traffic crashes resulting in serious injuries and deaths due to impaired driving.
Mosimanegape said they will also be prioritising the sobriety checkpoints and saturation patrols programme and utilise booze buses. He stated that road accidents remain a law enforcement challenge stating that between 2020 and 2021, an increase of 18.1% in traffic violations was registered with speeding, driving without a licence and careless driving emerging as leading infractions. “A total of 413 lives were lost in 2021 compared to 325 in 2020, which translates to a 27.7% increase. We will continue to target behavioural risk factors such as drunken driving, speeding and fatigue to mention but a few, which are significant contributors to road accidents,” he said.
“A total of 413 lives were lost in 2021 compared to
325 in 2020, which translates to a
27.7% increase.