During various operations that were conducted during the festive season about 173 184 were stopped and checked by traffic officers.
The total number of traffic summonses for various offences is 37 958. About 852 vehicles were issued with notices to discontinue due to unroadworthy vehicles. 820 vehicles were impounded with 304 motorists arrested by the traffic officers. 158 of them were drivers who were under the influence of alcohol. Last Saturday, January 4 Machadodorp had an average of about 800 vehicles per hour moving to the western direction.
These numbers are expected to go up on Sunday since schools are opening and others starting to work. The ports of entry across the province are also expected to be extremely busy. Lebombo border Post is expected to be the busiest. The port of entry recorded the highest number of people crossing when it processed about 29 000 people before Christmas. According to the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, the province has seen major decreases in the number of major crashes reported. Statistics will be issued by Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula. However, the province has recorded fewer deaths as compared to this period last year. Law enforcement visibility was enhanced with increased cooperation among all stakeholders played a hand in curbing the crashes. On the other hand, there were challenges experienced by overloaded bakkies and mini-bus taxis that were mostly headed to Mozambique.
“Heavy traffic at ports of entries particularly Lebombo also posed challenges. Motorists were attempting to drive on the oncoming traffic. However, officers dealt with those situations. The issue of documentation reared its ugly head as some of the travellers using public transport did not have valid travel documents. More education is needed for our drivers, particularly those who travel across countries to always ensure that their passengers have valid documents,” said the department’s Moeti Mmusi.
