Heading for anarchy?

Date: 03 October 2016 By: Isabel Venter

How many more accidents need there be before people will obey the traffic laws?

Last week, an accident involving a four-year-old child placed local motorists’ blatant disregard for traffic laws under scrutiny yet again. (Read article here).

Nobody, whether they drive a taxi, skorokoro or a luxury car, seems to have any respect for the rules of the road. This includes drivers’ talking on their cellphones, not yielding to stop signs or any other traffic rules, for that matter.

During the Makhado Sector Crime Forum’s monthly meeting last Thursday, both the local traffic department and police voiced their concerns with regard to traffic violations in town. From the meeting it became clear that Louis Trichardt is fast falling into a state of anarchy.

During August, the Makhado traffic department issued a total of 22 traffic fines for people speaking on their cell phones whilst driving. This, sadly, is just a drop in the ocean of what is needed to restore law and order on the region’s roads. A good number of traffic violations that still occur repeatedly, according to traffic officials, include drunk driving, people parking in no-parking areas to pick up hitchhikers, and not adhering to stop signs or traffic lights.

Especially taxi drivers, it seems, have become a law upon themselves.

According to traffic officials, there have been reported cases the past few months where taxi drivers have threatened traffic police and civilians with firearms. There was one reported case where a taxi driver pulled out his firearm and chased away a motorist who was parked near the parking zone he uses for picking up passengers.

This, however, is not the only problem that traffic officials are facing. They have remarked that motorists do not stop when pulled over. “It is like people do not have respect for us anymore,” the officials remarked when asked about both their visibility and enforcing traffic laws.

Traffic officials have called upon the public to make the roads in Louis Trichardt safe once more for all. Traffic laws, no matter how trivial they may seem, are proven methods that help increase the safety of people travelling on or near roads. Failing to adhere to these laws might lead to prosecution or, in worst cases, somebody being killed.

In the meantime, there are rumours that the Makhado Municipality is in the process of installing security and speed-trap cameras in hot spot areas in the CBD and residential areas across town. At the time of our going to press, the municipality had yet to confirm this information.

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

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