Limpopo blames human error for road deaths amid Easter rush

Long queues of motorists driving back from Limpopo on the N1 heading towards Pretoria after the Easter long weekend on 5 March 2021. Picture: Jacques Nelles As hundreds of thousands of pilgrims descend on Moria, Limpopo transport authorities and bus operator Putco are mounting a coordinated road-safety offensive. However, they warn that the government can only do so much when drivers keep making fatal decisions.

The Limpopo Department of Transport and Community Safety and bus operator Putco held a media briefing at the Transpop monitoring centre to assess Easter traffic flow. MEC Susani Violet Mathye, addressing reporters alongside the Head of Department and Chief Director of Traffic Services Tshiwandalani Allen Matsila, said the province remained on high alert. 30 additional vehicles were deployed on Wednesday to bolster visibility on major routes.

“I’ve been looking around. I’ve seen many, many women in khaki and blue. They are on our road, so we’re happy about the visibility,” the MEC said.

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Officers were positioned at ten-kilometre intervals along all major routes, with mobile units patrolling between them and additional focus on historically hazardous areas. Putco confirmed it had deployed 550 buses to ferry pilgrims to and from Moria, with 95% already in Limpopo and 60% having reached Moria by the time of the briefing. The entire fleet consists of vehicles seven years old or newer.

“The deployment is of our new generation buses. These are buses that are seven years or less under the original manufacturer maintenance plan,” the spokesperson said. Spare buses and mechanical teams were pre-positioned along all routes.

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