Truckers call for 24/7 Fields Hill ban

The latest move by the Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) traffic authorities to restrict heavy vehicles on the notorious Fields Hill section of the road from Hillcrest to Pinetown is welcome, but doesn’t go nearly far enough, according to Durban truckers. KZN MEC for transport, Willies Mchunu, recently announced that trucks would be banned from the Field’s Hill road during the peak hours of the day. He has also reduced the truck weights covered by the restriction from 25 tonnes gross vehicle mass (GVM) to 16 tonnes. Given that GVM is the tare weight of the truck/ trailer combination plus the permissible weight cargo, this is a good move, according to the truckers’ body, the Durban Harbour Carriers' Association (DHCA). “This means that a laden combo 123 like the one involved in that horrific accident when 27 people were killed, can’t run the hill,” said DHCA chairman, Kevin Martin. But what the truckers object to is that the extended time restrictions only apply during the periods 06:00 hours to 09:00hrs on the eastbound (downhill) carriageway, and from 16:00hrs to 18:30hrs in both directions. “That’s the rush hours,” said Martin, “and how fast can trucks go then anyway. It seems to us more an anti- congestion tactic than a safety issue.” Not that the DHCA is criticising the police or the traffic authorities. “We feel that they’ve got the right ideas,” Martin added. “Their more visible policing of the hill has already moved 70% of the heavies back onto the toll road. “But what we’re pressing for is not this peak hour restriction – but a total 24/7 ban on laden heavies on the hill. That’s the only way to stop these accidents on what is one of the most difficult downhill gradients in the country.”