Following a tragic weekend that saw 19 fatalities in multiple traffic accidents, the RTMC has issued a warning urging motorists to enhance vehicle visibility and exercise extreme caution on the roads.
Image: Cindy Waxa African News Agency (ANA) Archives
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged motorists to improve the visibility of their vehicles and exercise extreme caution when driving at night following a series of crashes that claimed 19 lives over the weekend.
In a statement, the RTMC said: “The Road Traffic Management Corporation calls on motorists to improve the visibility of their vehicles and exercise extreme caution when driving late at night or early hours of the morning.”
The corporation said the appeal followed “a spate of major crashes that claimed 19 (nineteen) lives over the weekend”.
Five people died when a bakkie and a hatchback vehicle collided on Old Randfontein Road in Kagiso near Mogale City in Gauteng on Sunday.
“The crash took place at around 3am and all the deceased were travelling in the hatchback. The driver of the bakkie was not injured while all five males in the hatchback died on the scene,” the RTMC said.
Nine other people died on Thursday before midnight when a minibus and a truck collided at the intersection of the R500 and R42 at Buffelshoek in North West.
“It is alleged that the minibus with a trailer and transporting 13 passengers collided with a truck resulting in the death of six males, a female and a girl child on the scene. Another person died later in hospital,” the statement said.
Another five people were killed in a head-on collision involving a truck and a minibus on the N1 near Nyl Plaza in Limpopo on Friday.
“The crash involved a truck and minibus. It is alleged that the minibus traversed the median and went into the direction in which the truck was travelling resulting in a head-on collision,” the RTMC said.
The corporation stated that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the crashes.
“The Road Traffic Management is investigating all the contributory factors that may have led to the crashes,” it said.
The RTMC also called on motorists to avoid driving under the influence of alcohol and to take winter conditions into account when travelling.
“This includes slippery road conditions especially in the early hours of the morning, fog and poor visibility,” the corporation said.
The RTMC advised motorists to reduce speed, increase following distances, avoid sudden braking or steering, use low-beam headlights and ensure their tyres, windscreen wipers and lights are in good working condition.
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