Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe sends condolences to the families of the two people who died in Machadodorp this morning.

A truck transporting goods travelling towards Nelspruit collided head on with a sedan vehicle 10km from the Machadodorp Toll Plaza towards Middelburg. The sedan lost control and veered towards the oncoming traffic and collided with the truck.

The truck driver did not sustain any injuries and a case of culpable homicide is being investigated.

MEC Vusi Shongwe urges drivers to be more cautious when driving to avoid further accidents.

“We remain concerned about the number of accidents and fatalities that happened this festive season and our traffic officials and other law enforcement agencies will continue to work around the clock to save lives on our roads,” said Shongwe.

He urged motorists to rest in order to avoid fatigue and to ensure that vehicles that are on the road are roadworthy.

Shongwe is not backing down on his call for officers to arrest reckless and negligent drivers, such as the male motorist arrested yesterday. He was arrested by departmental traffic officers after he was caught driving a BMW at a speed of 174 km/h on a 120 km/h zone on the N3 freeway close to Grootvlei. Shongwe commended the officers saying that the arrest of the suspect might have saved lives of innocent motorists.

He commits that officers will be on the road conducting road blocks with the aim of preventing accidents and they will fine those who are found on the wrong site of the law.

Meanwhile, Shongwe led a road block on the Moloto Road between Pretoria and KwaMhlanga yesterday. At this road block 8911 vehicles were stopped and 36 drivers were screened for alcohol. Seven vehicles were discontinued for not being roadworthy while six including taxis were impounded.

This kind of operations and rest stops will remain normal activities of the department throughout the festive season.