
TRAC has reported an increase in crashes and fatalities on the N4 Toll Route this past Easter compared to the same period last year. Seventy-three crashes were recorded on the N4 from Thursday 29 March to Monday 2 April 2018 – 40 of which occurred in South Africa and 33 in Mozambique. The number of fatalities also increased, with three fatalities recorded in the Lowveld in South Africa and one in Mozambique.
Two people died on Thursday morning when their bakkie overturned on the Ring Road near Mbombela and a pedestrian was killed near Sterkspruit later that day. In Mozambique, on Friday, a pedestrian died in a hit and run near the Ressano Garcia Border Post.
As expected, a major increase in traffic was recorded over the Easter weekend with hourly counts at TRAC’s biggest and busiest South African toll plaza, Middelburg, reaching over 2 250 vehicles on Monday 2 April. The Ressano Garcia and Lebombo border posts also reported extremely busy conditions on Thursday, Friday and Monday, although no heavy delays were experienced.
TRAC played a significant role by supporting traffic management measures en-route to the border post by distributing traffic control flyers in South Africa and Mozambique, providing signage and lighting and distributing water sachets to waiting road users.
And while on the topic of Easter traffic, it’s hats off to Imperial Road Safety and Hyundai Automotive South Africa which once again partnered with the Bakwena N1N4 concessionaire to bolster road safety by providing six Hyundai Accents to the concessionaire that were used over this busy period.
These vehicles were used by Road Incident Management Services to boost route surveillance, patrol and provide support and post-crash care over this period – which has proven to be highly impactful in the past both in proactive safety and decreasing response times when incidents occur.
Commenting on this initiative, Berenice Francis, group commercial executive at Imperial said: “Our long-standing relationship with Hyundai Automotive SA and the Bakwena N1N4 has not only allowed us to be directly involved in promoting a road safety culture among motorists but has also allowed us to maintain a visible presence on the roads. In doing so, we have been able to help shift the mindsets of road users when commuting and also provide motorists with support during periods like these, which is paramount.”
Well done to all.