NELSON MANDELA BAY - NMBM MAYOR CONDEMNS MOTORISTS FOR RECKLESS DRIVING AS CAR ACCIDENTS RISE

With only a few days after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the introduction Lockdown Alert Level 2, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has recorded an alarming number of car accidents.

From August 17 to 24, the City’s traffic department recorded 26 reported accidents with 17 of these accidents occurring over the past weekend.

NMBM Acting Mayor Councillor Thsonono Buyeye said it was disappointing to note that the majority of the accidents occurred during the first weekend following the lifting on the alcohol ban.

“A lot of these accidents have been attributed to reckless driving as a result of drunken driving. We saw a similar behaviour when the alcohol ban was first lifted forcing the governmental to later ban liquor sales with immediate effect. We really thought our resident had learnt their lesson but if these numbers tell us anything it is that we have some irresponsible drivers as some drink alcohol while under the influence of alcohol and put other road users at risk.”

“To deal with this problem our Metro Police and Traffic Officers will reinforce their operations to deal with irresponsible drivers. COVID-19 is not over yet, the last thing we want is to be hit by a second wave and also deal with alarming accidents. Social gatherings are still not allowed under Level 2, we urge residents to be responsible and work with government to ensure that our City is COVID-19 free.”

NMBM Director for Traffic and Licensing Warren Prins said the City recorded one fatality during the weekend.

Prins said: “We definitely started seeing a rise in the number of accidents across our City after Alert Level 2 came into effect. It is understandable as the economy was reopened, but the 17 accidents during one weekend is a major concern. We are exploring the option of holding roadblocks during the weekends to curb these accidents.”

“We would like to call on motorists to not drink and drive. We urge motorists to not speed while driving as many of these accidents are attributed to speed. If people could adhere to the road rules alot of these accidents could be avoided and many lives saved.”

via - NMBMUNICIPALITY