Trucks account for 50% of crashes on N3

Trucks are responsible for
at least half of the accidents
on the N3, according to Con
Roux, commercial manager
for N3TC.
“We see around 549
crashes involving trucks on
the N3 every year,” he said.
“That is more than one a day.
This is a disproportionately
high number of accidents if
one takes into account the
fact that trucks constitute
about 35% of the traffic on the
toll road.”
He said at least 75 truck
drivers died on the N3 every
year. “That constitutes at least
two deaths a month. And so we
are committed to road safety
and finding ways to decrease
that number.”
He said questions had been
asked as to why there were
so many fatalities on the N3
which is arguably the best
road in the country from an
infrastructure point of view.
“Infrastructure and
engineering of roads are
important elements when it
comes to road accidents. We
have a world class road yet our
accident statistics are so high,”
he said. “It would seem the
better the quality of the road,
the more accidents. This can be
attributed to speeding on the
improved road infrastructure.”
He said on the N3 there
was evidence of trucks doing
around 140km per hour,
which is extraordinarily
dangerous.
He said road infrastructure
along with the human
element accounted for around
76% of all accidents, with
vehicle factors contributing
minimally.
“In terms of when accidents
happen involving trucks it is
mostly at night,” said Roux.
“At least 60% of all incidents
involving trucks take place at
night.”