More than 16 people have died on roads in South Africa’s Gauteng province over the Easter weekend so far, according to Gauteng traffic police on Monday.
Gauteng police spokesperson Sello Maremane said those who have died so far were eight pedestrians, and the rest were passengers travelling in the province.
Maremane warned both pedestrians and vehicle travellers to follow traffic rules when moving from one point to another, especially at a busy time like Easter to avoid accidents.
“Many motorists are expected to be driving back to the province following the long weekend” and adhering to traffic rules ensured a reduction of road accidents among them, the spokesperson said.
He added: “As the Easter weekend draws to a close, high traffic volumes are expected this afternoon until late at night as a lot of people will be driving back to Gauteng.”
He said road crashes leading to fatalities were largely attributed to the behaviour of road users – both pedestrians and vehicle users.
Due to this, traffic police would “be on high alert to deal decisively with road traffic violations,” he added.
Drunk driving, reckless and negligent driving, speeding, unsafe overtaking, public transport overloading, and poor vehicle fitness are among the challenges that compound the situation on Gauteng’s roads at this time, Maremane said.
NM/jn/APA