Bakwena Platinum Corridor Concessionaire (Pty) Ltd (Bakwena), has reported an overall reduction of fatalities along its route over the period 8 December 2022 up to the 9 th January 2023. Bakwena works very closely with the traffic authorities from Tshwane Metro Police, Limpopo Traffic, Gauteng and North West Provincial Traffic authorities in an effort to reduce crashes and fatalities. We attribute this reduction to the increased visibility of law enforcement along the route which included roadblocks where vehicles were checked for roadworthiness, overloading, valid driver’s licence, seatbelts etc as well as drivers tested for alcohol abuse. A total of 10 fatalities (3 of which were pedestrians) were recorded compared to the previous year of 23.
With the Covid restrictions completely lifted during the 2 nd half of 2022, a busier festive period was expected and experienced with our highest volume being recorded of 2310 vehicles per hour passing through Pumulani toll plaza Pretoria bound.
During the 2022 December festive period, through our ongoing partnership with Motus Corporation and Kia South Africa we collectively added an additional 6 patrol vehicles to the N1N4 route. The additional vehicles assisted with visible policing, crash assistance as well as motorist assistance. These vehicles travelled 38 126km on the N1N4 route, participated in 3 roadblocks & 3 special operations, assisted at 36 crashes, assisted 130 stranded motorists, stopped 8544 vehicles and issued 941 Aarto notices.
According to Mr Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Transport, on the occasion of the release of the 2022 festive season fatality report, “Human factors remain a principle driver of fatalities on our roads, accounting for 87% of all crashes. These are followed by road and environment factors at 8% with vehicle factors at 5%”.
Every holiday season, Bakwena encourages motorists to plan their journeys and implements additional measures over the festive period to assist motorists. Various campaigns are rolled out not just during the holiday periods but throughout the year within the schools around the N1N4 corridor. Our ongoing partnership with Motus Corporation and Kia South Africa contributes considerably to our Easter and Festive season campaigns.
According to the Spokesperson for Bakwena, Solomon Kganyago, “we are deeply saddened by the fatalities that took place on the N1N4 route and convey heartfelt condolences to families and loved ones of the deceased. Bakwena is committed to continue with their efforts to strive for zero fatalities. We thank the local authorities, the Department of Transport, maintenance contractors as well as other stakeholders for their ongoing efforts in striving to reduce incidents and fatalities on our country’s roads. We urge motorists to abide by the rules of the road at all times to arrive at their destination safely”.
