The N1 between Musina and Louis Trichardt produced yet another fatal accident last Saturday morning (1 April), when a bakkie and a minibus taxi collided head-on near the Baobab tollgate. Eight people were reportedly killed.
The road was temporarily closed for many hours while emergency services attended the scene. The spokesperson for the Department of Transport and Community Safety, Ms Tidimado Chuene, confirmed the incident. "The accident is suspected to have happened when a minibus taxi overtook unsafely on a barrier line, colliding head-on with a light delivery vehicle. Five men and three women lost their lives. Eight other people who sustained injuries were transported to nearby hospitals," she said.
In another accident on 17 March this year, three people lost their lives when a truck crashed into a minibus taxi near the Ingwe Hotel. The taxi was heading to Beitbridge when the accident occurred.
The Limpopo MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Florence Radzilani, also sent her condolences to the families of the deceased. "We are nearing the Easter long weekend, which will see a heightened volume of traffic on our roads as people will be travelling to different parts of the province to spend time with their families. While we anticipate this to be a period of joy and family reunions, experience has taught us that there are some among us who are reckless on the roads. Reckless driving, overtaking at unsafe spots, over-speeding, overloading, and drunk driving, count as the number one causes of road accidents and fatalities. The responsibility for road safety lies with all of us as individual drivers. We are therefore continuing to make a clarion call on motorists to become a part of the road safety crusade and be responsible road users at all times for all to arrive alive," said Radzilani.