WITH the expansion of the Port of Durban, there is a significant increase in the number of trucks on the road in Durban and in particular the South Durban Basin, mainly due to its proximity to the Port.
According to Eurakha Singh, Senior Manager of South Durban Basin (SDB) Area Based Management (ABM), while providing a vital service to the community by bringing in bulk goods at affordable prices, trucks also impact the environment that they operate in, especially if the infrastructure around them is not designed appropriately. This creates a nightmare for engineers responsible for maintaining roads as they are faced with damage to the same areas repeatedly.
She said that in an effort to ensure compliance with municipal by-laws, the SDB ABM, in partnership with eThekwini Transport Authority (ETA), Metro Police and Roads and Storm Water Departments, hosted a Driver Education and Awareness Workshop that focussed on trucking companies from Umbilo, Clairwood and Jacobs, all areas with high volumes of heavy duty trucks on the roads.
“The workshop focused on employee registration processes, which will eradicate the high rate of drivers operating without legal documentation which will help reduce the fatality rate and other primary causes of road accidents,” she said.
Daniel Hiralall, Manager of ETA, shared statistics and challenges faced by road enforcement authorities with regard to trucking. He reported that one of the main challenges experienced was the poor attention to maintenance and upkeep of trucks. In most cases tucks have many functional defects which compromises safety of drivers and other road users.
This view was supported by Supt Emmanuel Ntshaba from Metro Police, who further stated that their biggest challenge as Metro Police is the hesitance and sometimes refusal to comply with the rules of the road and specific by-laws expected of trucks, like compulsory stops.
The workshop empowered trucking business owners and truck drivers in the areas of Umbilo, Jacobs and Clairwood on road safety compliance and obeying the municipal by-laws. Truckers were also educated about infrastructure damage which is a result of reckless driving by truckers.
Attendee at the workshop, Sithembiso Sibiya, SHEQ Manager Unitrans, said that the workshop had fruitful results as he had an opportunity to voice his issues to relevant officials and get assistance with challenges being experienced by his company.
Also present was Ian Campbell Gillies and Sikho Msomi from the Umbilo Business Forum, who represented over 20 trucking companies from the Umbilo area. “We are excited with the safety information received and are keen to invite officials to our forum meetings to ensure that that the vital information reaches our members. I would also like to thank the ABM for arranging such a useful workshop,” said Gillies.
