This past festive season roadblocks by the JMPD in and around Roodepoort was a common sight.
Not only did they have them on the usual roads such as Ontdekkers Road but also where motorists did not expect them such as Kingfisher Road.
This intensified safety and security operations carried out by the Metro police over the festive season have paid off.
Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar says during the period between 1 December and 31 December, the Metro police officers arrested 715 drunk drivers in roadblocks and in stop-and-search operations throughout the city. Increased safety and security blitzes also saw more than 40 motorists arrested for speeding.
“The behaviour of motorists this festive season was unacceptable, as demonstrated by the high numbers of arrests for speeding and drunk driving. The JMPD will continue with its zero tolerance approach,” says Minnaar.
The festive season safety and security operations officially end on January 31.
Minnaar says most of the arrests for drunk driving and over-speeding were made on the N1 freeway around Midrand, and on the Golden Highway in Lenasia South. All the arrested motorists were charged with reckless and negligent driving and will appear in court soon.
“The highest speed we recorded was on December 22 when we arrested the driver of a BMW 320i driving at 216km/h. On December 31, the JMPD also caught a 41-year-old company director travelling at 203km/h in a BMW X6 on the N1 near the Olifantsfontein off-ramp. The man did not stop when he was flagged down by officers. He was later traced to his home and arrested while relaxing with his family. He told officers he thought no one would be on duty,” says Minnaar.
He says the extra work put up by officers as well as patrols, roadblocks and stop-and-search operations “really paid dividends”.
