Truck jack-knifed and hit vehicle on R101
Yet another serious accident on the R101 took place on Friday, 3 May.
The accident occurred on the outskirts of Bela-Bela when a 22 m-long Scania truck collided with a light vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.
This is the second serious accident on this same stretch of road in a week. On Friday, 26 April, Given Mabiletsi, a delivery driver for the Checkers Sixty60 group lost his life when a vehicle hit his delivery motorcycle head-on, Die Pos reported this incident in our issue of 3 May.
The new entrance to Extension 6, Bela-Bela seems to be gaining notoriety as a scene of accidents. The main problem seems to be the visibility of the new entrance and there is a serious need for proper markings indicating the T-junction.
In the latest accident, a truck from Zimbabwe was traveling from Modimolle to Bela-Bela. The driver of the truck said that there was a line of cars and trucks and as they approached the new entrance to Bela-Bela Township, a vehicle that traveled before him suddenly stopped, to make way for another vehicle in the intersection coming from Extension 6. The driver of the truck said he slammed on the brakes but lost control of the heavy vehicle. The truck jack-knifed and skidded off the road and a grey VW Polo traveling in the opposite direction collided with the truck.
The driver of the VW Polo hails from Polokwane and two of the passengers in the VW Polo had to be transported to hospital with multiple injuries.
Residents using the road regularly state that the main problem here is that other road users, and especially heavy vehicles do not adhere to the maximum speed limit of 60 km per hour on this road section, and this combined with poor signage and a lack of traffic officials to deter the drivers from overtaking and speeding, is a serious concern.
Col. Annemarie Smith of the Bela-Bela Police has confirmed that a case of reckless and negligent driving has been opened for the latest incident and is being investigated.
