WATCH: Beware of the Glenhills’ bend

IMAGINE relaxing in your home on a cold and rainy evening, when suddenly you hear a loud bang. When you rush outside, you see that a car has crashed through your boundary wall and there’s debris scattered all over your yard.

For Gray Trays of Longwoods Drive, Glenhills, this was a reality, and it was a small palm tree that had saved the driver from plummeting down the embankment and landing in front of Tray’s bedroom window.

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“I have been living here for 20 years and there have been numerous accidents in the vicinity of my property as it’s situated around a bend, which is blind to motorists coming off Umhlanga Rocks Drive, especially if you don’t know the road. My house is below road level” he said.

To date there have been eight serious accidents, including one where an elderly man died, and several mirror bashing incidents. The tree planted on his verge has been slammed into ten times.

“I have contacted the municipality several times, asking for speed humps, but I was told that since there is no school in this area, the humps cannot be installed. I then got tired of asking but I have started again. A person has died, a woman drove through my barrier wall; I don’t see why the City can’t install speed humps because this is serious,” said Trays.

He said the elderly man died in his driveway and he had to console his [elderly man] son for several hours that day.

The hooting, shouting, screeching tyres and screaming has become a norm for Trays.

“When the woman crashed through my wall and I heard that loud bang, I knew exactly what had happened. She sustained a head injury but she was fine and she had passengers in the car who were uninjured. It had been raining and as she is not familiar with the area, she didn’t see the bend.”

Another issue that Tray says is contributing to the poor visibility at that particular spot at night, is that the street lights don’t function.

“Drivers can’t even see the bend in broad daylight so can you imagine at night, and when it’s raining?” he asked.

“All I want is for someone from the City to come out and have a look. Speed humps will be the best solution for this” said Trays.

To date Trays and his neighbours have erected boards when approaching the bend to warn motorists. He has also erected a few boards at his own cost and has placed boulders along the verge to try to stop motorists from hitting the tree.

The eThekwini Municipality was approached for comment but none was made available at the time of publishing.