POLOKWANE – A considerably larger proportion of road fatalities in Limpopo from the previous long weekend, can be attributed to pedestrians, while an even greater concern for Transport MEC, Florence Radzilani, is the lack of accountability in motorists involved in hit-and-run incidents.
This criminal act defeats the ends of justice, and makes it difficult for the families of the victims to find closure, she said.
Statistics on the number of roads crashes and fatalities over the Easter weekend will be released shortly after verification by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC), according to departmental spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene.
A noticeably higher traffic and police presence was noted on all major roads over the weekend, including the N1 into Polokwane and R71 that saw a significant number of pilgrims en route to Moria, where the ZCC St Engenas hosted an Easter service for the first time in three years.
The service saw the President Cyril Ramaphosa joining them on Sunday for the Easter celebration.
Last week, the department kept motorists informed as the traffic picked up on the N1 in the Hammankraal area, with 1 600 vehicles passing through the Kranskop toll plaza at around 17:00 last Thursday.
Safety officers had been on the roads since last Tuesday ensuring compliance and encouraging good road behaviour, with the department having launched their Easter Road Safety awareness campaign on the day at Kranskop toll plaza.
At the time, Radzilani mentioned that increasing personnel to monitor compliance remained their greatest weapon in a time where accidents were expected.
In the meantime, Limpopo police reported that 1 087 suspects aged between 20 and 48 were arrested for various crimes over the weekend, with officers confiscating items such as firearms with ammunition, vehicles, knives and drugs.
“The suspects will face charges ranging from murder, attempted murder, robbery, rape, sexual assault, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm, burglaries, malicious damage to property, theft, drug related crimes, driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, illegal immigration, public drinking, contravention of the Liquor Act, contravention of protection orders, and contravention of the Road Traffic Act,” a statement confirmed.
