More than 800 drivers arrested during festive season
37385 fines were also issued for various traffic violations
At least 848 motorists were arrested in Mpumalanga roads since the beginning of December 2017 to date for various traffic violations during law enforcement operations that took place in the province.
About 464 of the motorists were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, 122 for exceeding speed limit, 116 for reckless and negligence driving, while others were arrested for different violations such as overloading and driving with false documentation.
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Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Pat Ngomane has commended the traffic officials for the sterling job saying the continuous efforts by the department and other stakeholders on road safety will eventually yield success.
37385 fines were also issued to motorists for among others exceeding speed limit, overtaking on barrier line, violating road traffic signs, stopping on freeway, using cellphones whilst driving and overloading. Traffic officers also issued fines for at least 56 passengers for not wearing seatbelts.
Other fines were issued to motorists for driving vehicles with defects such as cracked windscreens, broken windscreen wipers, worn out tyres and malfunctioning direction indicators and lamps.
MEC Ngomane says that although there has been a success when it comes to law enforcement, the increase of road crashes remain a concern as there are many innocent lives that are lost on the road.
“We need to focus more on awareness campaigns and education, because we have seen that most crashes are caused by human error which is a result of behavior. As much as we want to prosecute those who continue to disobey the rules of the road, we need to continue instilling good driver behavior on them through education.
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“This is where churches, traditional leaders, community organizations and other government and non-governmental structures come in; because we cannot win this scourge of road carnage on our own,” he said.
Since the beginning of December, over 750 road crashes have been recorded and over 150 lives were lost. There is however a decline of 11,3 percent on fatalities as compared to the previous year during the same period.
The N4 Road recorded most of the crashes followed by the R40 and R573.
Other roads include the N2, R538, N11, R38, N12 and R555.
The MEC still believes and maintains that most crashes are caused by speeding, dangerous overtaking, and reckless driving amongst others. He says that, those found guilty must be prosecuted and given harsh sentences to send a strong message to other wrong doers.
He further says traffic officers will continue to work very hard to make sure that Mpumalanga has the safest roads.
