Safety system cuts accidents on Maputo route

28 Apr 2000 - By Staff reporter

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Safety system cuts accidents on Maputo route Anna Cox - Freight & Trading Weekly - 28 April 2000 edition -

- Freight & Trading Weekly

28 April 2000 edition

Safety system cuts accidents on Maputo route

Anna Cox

FIGURES RELEASED by Trans African Concessions (TRAC) show a decrease in accident rates on certain sections of the N4 toll route from an average of over six accidents a month to less than one a month.
The entire N4 toll route stretching from Witbank to Maputo experienced a significant drop in accidents and fatalities since TRAC took over the road in 1998 and implemented an integrated Incident Management System aimed at improving safety on the route, said TRAC chief executive officer Trevor Jackson.
This system includes 24-hour patrols, identifying and eliminating "red spots", and the introduction of SOS telephones every four kilometres along the route.
Integrated traffic calming methods were introduced between Belfast and the Machado Toll Plaza - previously an area where many accidents took place. The accident rate before implementation was 6.8 per month (5.5 accidents per million vehicle kilometers). For the period from the beginning of May last year to the present, this has dropped to an accident rate of only 0.66 per month (0.54 accidents per vehicle kilometres).
Jackson said the decrease in accidents on the N4 toll route illustrated the importance of maintaining roads in a condition that ensured a safe passage for all vehicles.
"Since the beginning of this project, we have stated our intention to make the N4 toll route the safest road in southern Africa. I believe our results indicate that we are well on our way to achieving this," he said.