Dangerous weather ahead for motorists
Motorist cautioned about rainy season.
The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) is urging road users to exercise caution and adopt a more preventive approach to rains. More lives are lost during rains than in any other weather-related incident. This includes flash floods, slippery roads and faulty traffic lights.
Flooding can be caused by heavy rainfall and long periods of rain. Flash floods are often instant, can last for a few minutes to several hours, and can occur without warning. When practicing safety on rainy days the following signs should be looked out for:
• unusually hard rain for several hours
• steady substantial rain for several days
• rains in conjunction with a spring thaw
• water rising rapidly in streams and rivers
Furthermore motorists are advised not to drive through flooded areas even if it looks shallow enough to cross. If the vehicle stalls it should be abandoned immediately and the occupants should seek higher ground. Motorists should avoid driving
into water covering the road due to the fact that the depth of the road that has been washed away could be deceiving.
Pedestrians are also urged to be careful when crossing flooded areas or low-lying bridges. JRA requests that residents keep storm-water drains clean to allow free water flow and refrain from dumping in storm-water drains.
Owing to the fact that roads are slippery during rains because of the oil emanating from leaking cars and spillages, speeding should be avoided at all costs. Most traffic lights are knocked down by speeding and reckless drivers during rains, putting the lives of innocent people at risk.
To ensure that traffic lights remain operational despite adverse conditions JRA is embarking on numerous initiatives such as converting traffic lights located on busy main roads to solar and uninterrupted power supply, replacing cables systematically on a continuous cycle and also decentralising technicians who now are based and operating from the seven regions, closer to customers.
All incidents must be reported to JMPD, SAPS and City of Joburg on 0860JOBURG (562874).
