GRIM SEASON ON LIM ROADS

Over 200 people were killed on provincial roads over the festive season, which made Limpopo the second most dangerous province in the country to have travelled to in December.

Limpopo recorded a 16.5% increase, from 194 to 226 fatalities for the same period last year. According to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, human factors contributed as much as 79% to the occurrence of fatal crashes while road factors contributed 11% and vehicle factors 10%. Mbalula spoke during the release of the festive season road statistics on Tuesday morning.

Departmental spokesperson Mike Maringa earlier confirmed that most accidents in the province could be attributed to speeding, reckless and negligent driving, pedestrians in the road and unroadworthy vehicles.

The highest of the fatalities recorded was the death of 17 people who died after a minibus collided head-on with an SUV. A burst tyre had apparently led to the incident that occurred along the N1 at Mookgophong on January 10. Maringa said the 22-seater bus that was involved in the crash was travelling to Polokwane at the time of the accident.

“Seventeen people died including both drivers. Investigations continue and a case of culpable homicide has been opened.” He said to alleviate road accidents the department had hosted numerous road

safety campaigns and operations in all the districts of the province. Visibility had been heightened since the beginning of the festive season on all major and problematic roads including the N1 and R71.

During the release of the provisional festive season statistics on December 22, Limpopo had by that time recorded a 16.8% decrease in road fatalities from 107 to 89 over the same period in the previous year but this number had drastically increased.

Mbalula said a person was caught speeding on the N1 near Mokopane, clocking

225km/h in a 120km/h zone. After the address by the minister the provincial department announced that by December

22, over 149 accidents had been recorded in the province since the start of the festive season and over 60 of those had been caused by speeding and loss of control. At that point 43 people had lost their lives due to road accidents.

Although Limpopo residents are pleased at the resumption of operations at the Polokwane International Airport, some have raised concerns over the high road accident rate over the festive season, saying if there were affordable means of alternative transport into the province, these accidents could have been avoided.

Maringa said the only other alternative for Limpopo is air-transport through scheduled flights between OR Tambo and Polokwane Gateway International Airport. Maringa says the expansion of the airport to include cheaper flights will be determined by the demand and bookings that the airline receive on a daily basis but it is the wish of the department that people can utilise this mode of transportation. On the website of the Shosholoza Meyl, which is the passenger rail division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), one route to Musina via Polokwane operates a few times a week. According to the website, train routes were re-launched on December 15 after more than a year of disruptions due to Covid-19 and the first trip to Musina departed on December 17. The fare for a single trip is R100.

Polokwane e Observer asked residents what alternative e means of transport they think the department ment should introduce and if they y would use it as opposed to driving.

Collisions on Limpopo’s roads claimed the lives of 226 people over the festive season.

Jacques Joubert: A proper working railway system that attracts commuters for safety, affordability and convenience would definitely assist, but just look at what government has done, or not done, to maintain the national railway infrastructure. in Then you will have your y answer. Maintenance and proper accountability a needed.

Jackie Rademeyer: I believe buses are far safer than taxis but we don’t want to put taxis out of business. That being said, I do believe the department is on the right track if they impose the new point system to all who do not obey the rules of the road. The transport used isn’t the problem. It’s the person behind the wheel that is the problem. Drunk driving, falling asleep behind the wheel, not adhering to road signs, not switching on head lights in fog or heavy rain conditions and unroadworthy vehicles are the problem. If people obey the rules then fewer accidents will occur. Why are there road rules if people don’t obey them?

Fazlin Jardin: The train network would be first choice but instead of the old school trains, we should have had a bullet train such as the Gautrain on this route by now. The other option is the airlines having ‘Welcome Home’ specials on weekends - that way they could increase the number of people flying. This will also increase passengers in numbers which equals an increase in revenue. Surely the tourism board could step in and get the costs down for the Polokwane route.

Jacques Swanepoel: They should install concrete barriers in the middle of all highways. It works excellent in Europe.