Fingers pointed at truckers as accident stats are revealed

‘Gauteng’s roads are most dangerous’ Anna Cox IT’S official. Gauteng has the most dangerous roads to drive on. Figures released by the Department of Transport last week show that the province tops the accident rate with the highest fatality figures per kilometers travelled. The most dangerous road in the country is the Sandton/Midrand/Centurion/Pretoria Ben Schoeman N1 freeway which has 48 crashes happening every 10km. Next highest on the national list is the N2 in KwaZulu Natal from Kingsburg/Amanzimtoti/Durban/Tongaat with 27.46 crashes every 10km. The next three on the list are all Gauteng roads. The third highest is the N12 Lenasia/Soweto/Johannesburg/Bedfordview/Germiston with 25.42, followed by the N12 from Boksburg/Benoni/Daveyton with 21.11 and the N3 from Heidelberg/Vosloosrus/Alberton/Germiston and Bedfordview with 20.98. These are just some of the 86 national routes identified as the most dangerous in the country. These hazardous sections of road, covering 10 730 km in all nine provinces, have been identified where 5849 fatal crashes were reported from January 1, 2001 to December 2004. Transport minister Jeff Radebe expressed grave concern over the figures relating to trucks. He said about 91 398 drivers of public passenger and freight transport vehicles for which Professional Driving Permits (PrDPs) were required, were found to be driving such vehicles with either expired PrDPs or without a PrDP. On average about 19% of all trucks have at least one smooth tyre and 20% have at least one damaged tyre. Infrastructure shortfalls, time-critical projects … a range of factors has contributed to the demand for air charter. And with the stronger rand making charter cheaper, the market is alive with possibilities. FTW takes a closer look.