Limpopo Traffic safety officers and the SA Police Services conducted a roadblock at the Kranskop Toll Plaza on the N1 North highway recently as part of the province’s festive season road safety plan. Scores of commuters are expected to descend on the province during this holiday season.
Limpopo which borders Zimbabwe and Botswana is the gateway to Africa. Thousands of minibus taxis, commuter busses and road freight trucks pass through the province’s roads, especially the N1 highway every week.
In May a meeting of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition on its oversight visit to Gauteng and Limpopo heard that the Beitbridge Border Post in Musina, in terms of export volumes, handled 12% of South African goods exported by road in 2022, making it the second largest commercial border post after Lebombo Border Post (Mozambique) (which handled 50% of exports).
On Friday 8 December as scores of commuters began the long holiday trek home members of the SA Police Service and Traffic Officers set up a roadblock on the northbound highway near the Kranskop Toll Plaza.
The operation was part of a month long road traffic safety campaign aimed at enforcing compliance with the rules of the road during the festive season.
The law enforcement officers focused on safety belt usage by drivers and passengers on public transport, roadworthiness of vehicles and possession of the right permits by public transport drivers.
Some drivers working for funeral undertakers were fined for transporting of human bodies using trailers drawn by taxi instead of hearses.
In November Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga officially launched the 2023/24 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign whose focus this year is on the impact of alcohol on road user behaviuor and its contribution to the carnage.
Chikunga said the objective of the campaign was not only to ensure smooth flows of traffic, but also to prevent negligent and reckless driving which could result in road crashes, injuries and fatalities.
Arrive Alive warns that drivers who become drowsy or fall asleep at the wheel contribute to thousands of crashes each year.
“Fatigue is a condition that affects everyone. Although typically associated with long-distance driving, fatigue can set in after a long day at work, an outing at the beach, or virtually any activity. Circadian rhythm, the body’s natural rhythm associated with the earth’s rotation, causes nearly everyone to be less alert or even drowsy between 1 and 5 p.m,” the road traffic safety authority advices.
Arrive Alive also warns that emotional stress, illness, or boredom can also cause fatigue. Sun glare, a major factor in eyestrain, can contribute to fatigue.
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