Traffic concerns in the spotlight

THE one unavoidable daily experience for most residents of the region, is having to navigate the road network – whether as driver, passenger or commuter.

Besides dodging potholes and the inherent risks associated with deteriorating road surfaces, this also necessitates having to put up with incredibly poor driver habits – either because many drivers have not legitimately obtained their licences, or because there no longer appears to be respect for rules of the road.

The daily commute from the suburbs and townships, and between Richards Bay and Empangeni, is enough proof that many drivers simply don’t care about stop signs and red robots, and have little understanding of road manners and courtesy.

On the positive side, the entire John Ross Parkway project is scheduled for completion around the end of August, which will eliminate some frustration; and the continued ‘speed trapping’ and roadblock ‘stop and search’ operations by traffic and police officials bore tremendous results over the festive season.

The average speed on the John Ross has noticeably declined, no doubt due to the large number of fines that have been issued.

But the great danger that remains is still the vehicles (drivers) that plough through red lights, with many accidents taking place at controlled intersections.

For this reason, the Zululand Observer today launches our ‘Seeing Red!’ campaign, in the hope of assisting the traffic department in limiting the number of such offences, or at least bringing the offenders to the attention of the authorities or the owners of company vehicles.

Hopefully the thought of being caught on camera will lead to safer driving habits.

And of course, the possibility that deaths or serious injuries may be prevented is paramount.