A preliminary report from the Western Cape Provincial Traffic Services indicates that 13 road users died on the province’s roads over the weekend.
Provincial Traffic Officers arrested 21 motorists for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol on 29 and 30 July 2016. Five were arrested in the George service area; four in Mossel Bay; three in Worcester; three in Knysna; two in Somerset West; two in Brackenfell; one in Swellendam; and one in Beaufort West. One other arrest was made for overloading in Vredenburg.
Breath testing was performed on 2 348 drivers at 22 alcohol blitz roadblocks across the province. The highest breath alcohol reading was recorded in the Mossel Bay service area. At 1,10 mg of alcohol/ 1 000 ml of breath, this is four times the legal limit of 0,24 mg/ 1 000 ml.
A total of 203 vehicles were screened for speeding and 57 speeding offences were recorded. Fines in the amount of R402 600 were issued for a variety of reasons ranging from driver offences to vehicle fitness violations.
The highest speeds recorded were 151 km/h in a 120 km/h zone on the N7 in the Vredendal service area; 137 km/h in a 100 km/h zone on the N2 in the Caledon service area; and 109 km/h in an 80 km/h on the N2 in the Swellendam service area.
Details of the road fatalities over the weekend follow:
Date
Location of crash
Fatalities
Friday, 29 July 2016
R43 Hermanus
1 pedestrian
Friday, 29 July 2016
N1 Beaufort West
1 pedestrian
Friday, 29 July 2016
N2 Macassar
1 pedestrian
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Bella Vista, Ceres
4 passengers
2 drivers
Sunday, 31 July 2016
N7 Philadelphia
1 passenger
Sunday, 31 July 2016
N1 Paarl
1 pedestrian
Sunday, 31 July 2016
N1 Beaufort West
1 passenger
Sunday, 31 July 2016
Klipheuwel
1 pedestrian
Speeding plays a causal and aggravating role in most fatal crashes on Western Cape roads. We encourage motorists to slow down, thereby greatly reducing their likelihood of being involved in a horrific crash that results in a senseless loss of life. We will continue to address speeding through awareness campaigns, enforcement activities, and the Average Speed Over Distance (ASOD) camera enforcement network.
Source: Arrive Alive
