Communities say NO to trucks
It is said that these towns are currently badly affected by the diversion of heavy trucks from the N2.
A notice to truck owners and drivers was given out last week on behalf of various organisations and groupings. The notice originated from within communities situated along the R33, R34 and R66 routes, including Ermelo, Piet Retief, Paulpietersburg, Vryheid, Melmoth and Utrecht.
It is said that these towns are currently badly affected by the diversion of heavy trucks from the N2. Last week Thursday, different organisations and individuals closed the R33 route in Paulpietersburg. That meant that the trucks going into the town of Paulpietersburg could not make their way through; only trucks leaving town could make use of one lane.
The community of Paulpietersburg wholeheartedly supported the initiative. Parents of schoolchildren were heard saying that they fear for their children’s lives, as trucks seem to be everywhere. One woman mentioned that she had to park her car on the pavement on three separate occasions in order to let the trucks pass by, as she feared to drive while there were so many heavy vehicles on the road. An incident took place at the Xaba household, where a truck tyre came flying out of nowhere and destroyed the house. Phindile Xaba, who is the older sibling, said,
“We are a child-headed household and the incident took place at around 04:00 in the morning while the children were sleeping. We believe the tyre came off while a truck was still driving on the road; it came speeding along and hit the walls of our house. The children, aged between 14 and 15, who were sleeping in that room were taken to hospital and we thank God they are alive today. Our neighbours and the police came and tried to search for the truck or the driver, but they didn’t find anything. Now we are left with a broken wall and a cracked house that might fall anytime.” The Santco chairman in Paulpietersburg also visited the household, along with other concerned citizens who comforted the children as best they could.Duduzile Nhlengethwa, who is the speaker of the municipality, was present when the trucks were blocked from coming into town.
A memorandum was read out to her, stating that there needs to be other plans for the trucks, as the N2 was never meant for heavy traffic. The memorandum also stated that light motor vehicle users cannot use the road, as the infrastructure is damaged due to the trucks and it takes them hours to reach their destinations due to the influx of heavy vehicles. “We do not have a bypass here in eDumbe, so trucks make their way through our town and also park, so now we don’t have parking. We do not know where to park when we are running our errands,” a concerned citizen said. The speaker received the memorandum and promised to give it to the relevant people so the issue can be resolved. Because the road was closed, truck drivers decided to also block the trucks that were leaving town. Police and Traffic Department officials had to intervene and allow traffic to flow.
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The news provided to you in this link comes to you from the editorial staff of the Vryheid Herald, a sold newspaper distributed in the Vryheid area.
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