Darnall residents are urgently calling for action following a tragic head-on collision on the R102 that claimed the lives of six people on Saturday night.
The horrific crash has reignited concerns over the safety of this notorious stretch of road, which many locals have labelled a “death trap”.
Resident Claire Badenhorst expressed her frustration on the Courier’s Facebook page, highlighting numerous hazards that have persisted during her two years in the area.
She cited issues such as drunk driving, obstructive sand heaps from roadworks, massive potholes forcing drivers into oncoming traffic and non-functional traffic lights.
“It’s like this part of the area is just forgotten about. Officials need to take a drive on this piece of road and do something, it is shocking,” said Badenhorst.
Tammi-Lee van der Merwe echoed her sentiments.
“If authorities had listened the last few years to us locals about the state of that stretch of road, this could have been avoided,” she said.
Locals are now advocating for the implementation of traffic-calming measures and proper road maintenance.
As the R102 is classified as a regional road, it falls under the jurisdiction of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Transport rather than the local municipality.
The KwaDukuza municipality is in charge of the traffic light maintenance however, and confirmed they were out of service.
Photo: IPSS Medical Rescue.
“The procurement process for the service provider to work on the said robot has been concluded,” said municipal spokesperson, Sifiso Zulu.
In response to the tragedy, KZN Transport Minister Siboniso Duma extended his condolences to the victims’ families and emphasised the need for road safety campaigns.
He announced plans to target young, prospective drivers to instill good driving habits and discourage reckless behaviour, including drinking and driving.
“We want to create a new [driving] culture,” said Duma.
He said the department had intensified road blocks to catch people driving illegally, whether unlicenced, under the influence or in unroadworthy cars.
At a road block in Oribi on Saturday, a police officer stationed at King Shaka International Airport was arrested for drunk driving.
Minister Duma noted that the department is investing R8.7-billion in infrastructure, with R3.7-billion allocated for new projects and R4-billion for maintenance.
However, the Courier’s inquiries regarding the Darnall accident remained unanswered by the department, leaving residents feeling overlooked as they continue to push for urgent improvements on their roads.
Provincial police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, confirmed a case of culpable homicide was being investigated by KwaDukuza Saps.
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