Accidents on the rise in Carlswald
MIDRAND – Residents are furious over their walls getting regularly smashed due to car accidents.
A Carlswald resident has been left feeling helpless following increased motor vehicle accidents on the corner of New and Harry Galaun roads which has damaged properties.
Hollier Galt has been living in the area for the past 30 years and over the last 10 years, she and her neighbour have been faced with the same nightmare, which is yet to be resolved.
Read Do’s and Don’ts at accident scene
According to Galt, attempts to receive effective intervention from authorities have been futile. The resident said she has repaired her wall more than 10 times, following car accidents.
“The situation worsened over the festive season. People are just not careful when they approach the corner, which results in accidents. Most of these accidents are caused by drunk drivers and we have spent a lot of money fixing our walls that are knocked down by cars,” Galt said.
Galt revealed that the Johannesburg Roads Agency had put up a warning sign after numerous complaints from residents. However, that did not yield many positive results.
“We have asked for a speed bump to be erected, but we were told it was not possible because it’s a national road. That statement changed and we were informed that there was not enough money for it.”
On 14 January, an Audi driver crashed into the wall of Galt’s neighbour. Four days later, on 18 January, another accident occurred on the same corner.
“We don’t know what to do anymore because we keep on spending money for repairs but the problem does not go away.”
Read Runners lay flowers at scene of accident
Spokesperson for the agency, Bertha Peters-Scheepers said the agency would engage with Metro police to increase law enforcement on the affected routes and the nature of accidents would be assessed prior to a recommendation of remedial interventions.
“In terms of reckless driving and motorists failing to adhere to the rules of the road, this remains a law enforcement issue. We urge all motorists to abide by the speed limit and road traffic signals and consider the safety of all road users,” said Peters-Scheepers.
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