Tshwane’s Metro cops crack down ahead of Easter

The Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) will show zero tolerance for disobedient motorists this Easter weekend.

Yesterday, the TMPD launched its Easter road safety operations, aimed at reducing road fatalities and checking vehicle and driver fitness.

ALSO READ: Border Management Agency on high alert as travel increases over Easter

TMPD chief of police commissioner Yolande Faro said officers would be harsh and have zero tolerance for those breaking the rules of the road, especially during the Easter weekend, considered the busiest of the year.

Last year, 252 people died on South African roads over the Easter weekend. Faro said the Easter traffic was expected to pick up from today.

“Have patience with others on the road so we can all arrive alive to where we are going,” she said.

“We want to appeal to pedestrians because there is usually an increase in pedestrian accidents around this time. “If they walk, they must walk in bright clothes and not walk and drink,” she said.

“Motorists will be travelling to different provinces and neighbouring countries. “The busiest routes in Gauteng, the closest to Tshwane, is the N1 going to Limpopo, the N14 to the North West and the N4 linking Gauteng to Mpumalanga.”

Increase in traffic

Faro said the traffic on the roads was expected to surge until Sunday and Monday, when motorists returned home from their destinations.

“For law enforcement, it is going to be a very long weekend,” she said. “We must also be in the residential areas and [check on] businesses that are closed to ensure we don’t have break-ins,” she said.

Faro said the main aim of the operation was to reduce road fatalities over this busy period. “Drivers need to comply with the law. Safety of pedestrians remains a big problem in Tshwane,” she said.

Faro said Metro police officials would focus on whether motorists were wearing safety belts, motor and driver fitness, pedestrian safety and reckless and negligent driving, overloading of vehicles and speeding.

“In the past, the leading causes of fatal crashes were accidents with pedestrians, single-vehicle accidents and hit-and-runs.

“We know drunk driving is suspected to be the underlying factor in hit-and-run and single-vehicle accidents,” she said. City of Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink urged residents and motorists to respect officials in uniform and the law.

“Please treat law enforcement officers with respect. Not the respect where you accept bullying, but the kind of respect for the law and the rule of law,” he said.

ALSO READ: Don’t become a statistic, stay safe with these Easter break travel tips

Brink said it was the City of Tshwane’s mission to help reduce the number of road fatalities. “It’s all about the sanctity of life,” he said. Motorists should take every precaution to ensure they don’t become one of the fatalities.

“It starts with road users,” Brink said. Tshwane MMC for community safety Grandi Theunissen said the launch was a sign of the TMPD’s dedication to road safety.

“We are better prepared and better equipped, with a revived spirit. “As you may have seen since October, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of vehicles on the roads,” he said.

“The increase in traffic comes with a heightened risk… That’s the sad part of the Easter period,” he said

ALSO READ: Kidnapping victim saved after high-speed chase in Pretoria