The Gauteng Traffic Police on Thursday morning called on motorists to drive safely and abide by all road rules this Easter long weekend.
Public transport operators have been encouraged “to save the lives” of road users during Easter – the most important and oldest festival of the Christian Church, celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The Easter season holiday period is characterised by a high increase in long-distance travelling, mostly for religious pilgrimages and holiday adventures.
There will be more buses and minibus taxis on the road.
The rush to make profits by public transport operators, especially during the Easter season period often results in various forms of dangerous driving,” said Sello Maremane, Gauteng Traffic Police Spokesperson.
Traffic contraventions include reckless and negligent driving, disregard for traffic signals, excessive speeding, passenger overloading, and unsafe overtaking.
Maremane said these traffic contraventions often lead to fatal crashes.
The Gauteng Traffic Police and various law enforcement agencies, will lead a series of heightened law enforcement operations and road safety activations at identified freeways and hazardous locations in the province as part of the Easter Season Road Safety programme, said Maremane.
The Gauteng Traffic Police will not hesitate to act decisively against drivers who disregard the rules and regulations of the road and endanger the lives of road users during the Easter season long weekend.
However, those planning to travel to Durban have been warned of sinkholes, fallen bridges and many roads have been closed as authorities deal with the aftermath of devastating floods that have left more than 300 people dead.
The following freeways and routes are expected to be busy this Easter season.
The N3 Johannesburg to Durban
The N12 Johannesburg to Potchefstroom
The N1 Pretoria to Polokwane
The N1 Johannesburg to Bloemfontein
The N4 Pretoria to Rustenburg
The N4 Pretoria to Mpumalanga
