Security and police visibility will be beefed up in Limpopo during the festive season. This is according to the province’s Department of Roads and Safety as it launched its road safety campaign ahead of the festive season at Tshamahansi outside Mokopane.
The N1 is one of the most dangerous roads in South Africa. The stretch between Mokopane and Louis Trichardt has seen scores of fatal crashes over the years. Speeding, fatigue and reckless driving are the prime causes of accidents.
The road is also a conveyor belt of criminal activity. The spiking of vehicles by armed robbers has been prevalent over the last few months. MEC for Transport and Community Safety Mavhungu Lerule-Ramakhanya says they will intensify patrols on the road during the festive season.
“Today we are here to launch officially our festive season operations, we are here to launch our Arrive Alive campaign and mostly the usage of our seat belts and making sure that we don’t drink and drive, we don’t drink and walk on the roads because statistics of the pedestrians is also very very high. Speed on our roads, all our roads, have got limitations in terms of the speed limit that is supposed to be used, be it 60, 80 or 120 and we are saying we want you to stick to the speed limit,” says Lerule-Ramakhanya.
Santaco, which represents taxi operators, is pleading with taxi drivers to adhere to the rules of the road. Santaco’s secretary in Limpopo, Lesiba Mathobela says taxi drivers must not drive above the speed limit, and also not overload their vehicles.
Mathobela is also encouraging commuters to vaccinate to curb the spread of COVID-19.
“Resist over speeding, we also object to overloading. We encourage our drivers to adhere to the rules of the road and the road signs and we also said in our presentation that it is very important to appreciate the non-pharmaceutical interventions. It will help the business and everyone. All taxi drivers in the province to adhere to the rules of the road to work and cooperate with traffic law enforcement together with other stakeholders and partakers on the road.”
Limpopo Provincial Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe is happy that bicycles handed over to Community Policing Forums will assist in crime prevention in communities.
“The handing over of these bicycles today will also assist our CPF in terms of getting to the smaller areas they need to get to quickly in the event a neigbour is shouting to say from a block away please come and assist someone is coming in. That person will be quicker to reach that particular place and assist where he can assist and very crucial in the element of our response to certain criminal activities in our communities. It will also ensure that members have a mode of transport to meetings within a short space and other activities. Moreover, MEC these bicycles will ensure that our members cover a whole background during patrol and reduce the burden of walking long distances. Limpopo recorded 188 fatalities last festive season, compared to 205 in the 2019/2020 festive season.
Source: News365
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