KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison Willies Mchunu lashed out at errant motorists for killing people on the road
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Mr Willies Mchunu lashed out at errant motorists, saying they are responsible for the death of more than 160 people who lost their lives in the province over the festive season.
Making reference to the major festive season accidents, MEC Mchunu said it was clear that excessive speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol were serious contributing factors.
He expressed dismay that a driver of a VW GTI was caught driving at 221 km/h at a zone of 120 km/h on the N2 over the December holidays. MEC Mchunu was addressing families of the Ramsgate New Year’s Day road accident today 6 January 2014 in Port Shepstone.
Eleven (11) people lost their lives in this gruesome accident and many were left critical.
Mchunu started by visiting the scene of accident on R61 between Ramsgate and Port Shepstone, before proceeding to inspect the wreckage of vehicles which were involved in this accident.
According to the SAPS report, a VW bakkie (Amarok) was going south when it collided head-on with a minibus taxi, which was on its way from Bizane to Margate. Seven occupants in a bakkie died and four were from a mini-bus taxi.
Police have indicated that speed and drinking and driving are suspected causes of this fatal accident.
“Excessive speeding and alcohol are the main contributing factors to road accidents. We need to strengthen our laws to ensure that offenders on the road take responsibility for their actions. Our main concern is the attitude of motorists because most accidents are as a result of human mistakes and negligence,” said Mchunu.
MEC Mchunu also announced government’s plan to assist the families with burial assistance through the Road Accident Fund.
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