Wretched Easter for road offenders, criminals

Continuous updates on the situation on Limpopo’s roads during the Easter weekend are proof of law enforcement officers’ dedication to ensure safer roads and to bring offenders to book.
This, plus high visibility might be ascribed to the decrease in the number of people killed on the province’s roads compared to the previous year as officers maintained a zero tolerance attitude throughout the weekend with several arrests being made.
Death toll
Department of Transport, Safety, Security and Liaison Spokesperson on Traffic, Kagiso Mootane said 30 people were killed on the roads this year compared to 49 in 2015. Transport MEC Dipuo Peters in a press conference in Pretoria on Tuesday said that 156 people were killed across the country in comparison to 287 last year – a 46% decrease in fatalities.
She added that 913 drivers were arrested for drunk driving across the country while 502 were put behind bars for speeding.
Statistics
Statistics provided by Mootane revealed that Mopani District reported the most accidents (27) out of a total of 75 across the province during the Easter weekend. Out of the 17 fatal accidents in Limpopo the highest number of fatalities (10) was reported in Sekhukhune. Seven pedestrians were killed on the roads including an on-duty traffic official.
“Speeding remains the biggest cause of accidents as 32 accidents were possibly caused by excessive speeding while 11 accidents were caused by pedestrians in the road,” Mootane said and added that stray animals, reckless driving, violation of traffic rules and insufficient following distance were among the causes of several other accidents.
Most vehicles involved in accidents were sedans followed by bakkies with only eight taxis and one bus being involved in a collision.
Accidents
On Thursday evening three people died in a collision involving nine vehicles on the N1 North just outside Polokwane. Six persons including three children died in an accident on the R36 near Mooketsi when a BMW overturned on Saturday. In both incidents excessive speeding was provided as possible cause. On Sunday eight people died just outside Marble Hall. “A taxi and sedan travelling in opposite directions collided head-on following alleged reckless driving by the driver of the sedan. Both vehicles caught fire and eight people were burnt beyond recognition,” Provincial Police Spokesperson Ronel Otto said. She added that the bodies were at the state mortuary with arrangements for DNA testing preliminary planned for today (Thursday).
A traffic official, Butana Hector Mlondobozi attached to the Greater Tzaneen Municipality was killed when a supposedly speeding motorist ran him over on the R36 Tzaneen/Lydenburg road on Saturday.
Tzaneen Police Spokesperson Moatshe Ngoepe said the driver of the vehicle, Akani Brendon Mgimeti (22) handed himself to Police on Sunday. “He appeared in the Tzaneen Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and was denied bail and the case postponed to tomorrow (Friday) for bail application,” Ngoepe said. He added that the case of culpable homicide was changed to murder due to the extreme circumstances of the matter and additional charges of reckless and negligent driving and failure to stop after an accident will also be added.
Arrests
On Saturday Peters and Transport MEC Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana joined a road block on the R71 just outside Polokwane where at least two motorists with fraudulent driver’s licences and another two driving under the influence of alcohol were arrested within several minutes of Peters’ departure.
Mokaba-Phukwana stated on the scene that driving schools will be the department’s next focus area to rid all illegal activities regarding learner’s and driver’s licenses.
Traffic officials on Friday chased after two rental vehicles transporting illegal cigarettes. According to Mootane the vehicles were abandoned at Bela-Bela and tens of cartons of illegal cigarettes confiscated. Otto said one person was arrested but released on Tuesday after he could not be linked to the case.
The Provincial Drug Unit embarked on an operation on Friday and arrested a 24-year-old woman in Modimolle for possession of 100 sachets of Cat and 24 big packets of the same drug with a street value of R500 000. “She was also found in possession of 42 ecstasy tablets worth R6 300 and ten cell phones with a value of R20 000. She was expected to appear in court on Tuesday,” Otto said.
On the same day Police in Tzaneen arrested a man at Rasebalane village near Ritavi for the possession of 93 dagga plants plus two 25 kg bags of dagga with a value of almost R51 000.

Story: RC Myburgh
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Featured photo: Transport MEC Mapula Mokaba-Phukwana destroys the alleged fraudulent driver’s licence of a suspect after being stopped at a roadblock outside Polokwane on Saturday afternoon.