Durban — With the trucking industry in the spotlight after a truck crashed into a bakkie, killing 20 people, a district mayor in KwaZulu-Natal has called for the banning of trucks during the day.
The mayor’s call also came after two crashes occurred on the R34 on Monday morning.
On Monday, Zululand District Municipality mayor Thulasizwe Buthelezi called for a national strategy to regulate the number of trucks passing through Zululand.
“The R34 from Vryheid to Richards Bay and the N2 from oPhongolo to Richards Bay simply cannot cope with the number of trucks passing these routes on an hourly basis. There is enormous pressure on our road infrastructure and as a result, fatal road accidents have become a daily occurrence,” Buthelezi said.
“We call upon the Minister of Transport to urgently come up with a national strategy to deal with these trucks — including limiting their times of travel to between 6pm to 6am only,” he said.
Buthelezi also offered his condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones in this accident.
He delegated his municipal officials to assist the bereaved families in this difficult time.
On Monday afternoon, KZN acting premier Nomagugu Simelane, after visiting the scene of the Pongola crash and engaging with affected families and schools, said the government will soon be meeting the South African National Roads Agency Limited to discuss the issue of expanding the N2 Pongola strip.
“Extending the road would be a long project that can take years. Immediate interventions would be to erect speed humps and increase law enforcement working with Provincial Road Traffic Inspectorate and local traffic officers.
“MEC Hlomuka will be meeting with (Transport) Minister Fikile Mbalula this week and we will put this issue on the agenda. We cannot sit and relax while the trucks are terrorising communities and other road users in Pongola. We will also be meeting with truck companies for them to deal with their drivers who are bullying other road users,” Simelane said.
Daily News