It was encouraging and a relief for both the KZN government and the citizens that the province registered no major fatal crashes over the last weekend, as many people were travelling to KwaNongoma to observe the annual Reed Dance ceremony.
Transport Head Sibusiso Gumbi has attributed this to the hard work of the law enforcement officers who were out to save the lives of road users. Gumbi also commended the law enforcement officers for conducting stringent operations that led to the arrest of three drunk drivers who were transporting maidens from the Reed Dance on Sunday.
“It is more fulfilling to know that all those who broke the law were dealt with harshly and will face the full might of the law. The integrated plan we had presented indeed yielded positive results. We will continue sustaining this momentum,” said Gumbi.
The integrated traffic law enforcement operations were conducted throughout the province over the weekend, focusing on overloading, excessive speeding, drinking and driving, seatbelts, vehicle and driver fitness and roadworthiness.
Meanwhile, the busy weekend was preceded by a road safety prayer, which was organised jointly by the DOT Road Safety team and Interfaith Committee in the Ladysmith Region.
The prayer was held in Pomeroy where seven maidens died when a taxi overturned and caught fire last month. The maidens had attended an event to prepare for last week’s Reed Dance festival.