Hard work makes Limpopo roads safer

The holiday season has officially kicked off and most people are finding themselves travelling to their various holiday destinations.  

Over the past weekend, the spokesperson for the Limpopo Department of Roads and Transport, Mr Moremi Matome, confirmed that more than 5 000 vehicles passed through the Kranskop toll plaza from Gauteng to Limpopo.

Matome said that traffic was likely to increase even more, but that traffic officials had been deployed all over Limpopo to keep a watchful eye. He further added that the traffic situation at the Beit Bridge border post was also running smoothly and that the border would be open 24 hours a day to assist travellers as quickly as possible.

In fact, Matome said, the department was so serious about ensuring safer roads this year that they had already launched a multifaceted project early on. Operation Ndadzi (meaning thunder in Venda) was launched by the law-enforcement unit of the Department of Transport (DoT).

The project this year not only targets unroadworthy vehicles, rule breaking and bad drivers, but also officials who accept bribes. “In fact, we are very strict about this. We don’t tolerate it from our traffic cops or the public. If caught, both will face severe punishment,” said Matome.

A big part of Operation Ndadzi includes an undercover anti-corruption unit specifically tasked with catching bribers. The project will run until mid-January next year.

According to Matome, the project’s stricter stance on road violators has already yielded some positive results. Compared to the same period (calculated from 1 December) in the previous year, the number of fatal accidents reported has decreased from 106 in 2016 to 78.

On local roads, the Makhado Fire Station said this week that no serious accidents had been reported. This, however, did not mean that the station’s personnel were resting on their laurels. On Monday, they were preparing for the launch of their yearly visibility exercise that will run from Tuesday, 19 December, until the first week of January.

This exercise will also form part of an awareness campaign to remind motorists that speed kills and to be considerate toward their fellow motorists. The station manager, Mr Jack Ramalatso, advised motorists to stop regularly and rest before continuing their journey. Especially, said Ramalatso, if travelling on rural roads where stray and wild animals wander onto the road.

Roads in the province, especially the N1, R71 and smaller roads, experience huge traffic volumes during the festive season. Therefore, emergency medical services from Vhembe will also be on standby. For assistance, the Makhado Fire Brigade can be contacted at Tel 015 516 0554/1/2 or 015 516 5588, the call centre of the local emergency services at 015 516 2395 or the Makhado SAPS at 015 519 4300.

Date:21 December 2017

By: Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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