Durban port users have launched an awareness campaign to highlight what the industry must do to try to overcome the problem of trucks being involved in serious – very often fatal – accidents on their routes in and out of the port city, according to Dave Watts, maritime adviser to the SA Association of Freight Forwarders (Saaff). The Durban Port Committee (DPC) is a standing committee of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and it meets monthly at the port offices of Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) to address a variety of port-related matters. At a recent regular meeting the committee branched away from its usual involvement with port issues and viewed a presentation from Con Roux, commercial manager of N3 Toll Concession. This outlined the shocking level of road accidents involving heavy vehicles – many of which are carrying containers and cargo to and from the port. During 2010, he said, there were 416 heavy vehicles crashes, over one a day, on the section of the road under N3 Toll’s control from Cedara to Heidelberg. Heavy vehicles were involved in 45.3% of the 1 103 accidents that occurred last year, causing 147 fatalities. Of those involving heavies, 268 occurred at night. “Though the road is clearly a major route for heavy vehicles hauling between Durban and Gauteng, this statistic – that almost 50% of all accidents involve heavy vehicles – clearly indicates that there are some serious problems affecting the performance of truck transport in our country,” Watts said. “Members of the committee who are involved in any way in the trucking industry – not only operating but loading, receiving, booking and policing – are now committed to raising awareness of every aspect of heavy vehicle safety in their area of control. “Only with extra vigilance from all parties involved in this industry will the carnage on our roads be reduced.”
