Transport dept sees surge in road crashes
Transport officials say they have identified a concerning trend in road crashes recently.
The department says there appears to be a spike in collisions occurring between 7 PM and 1 AM.
Deputy Minister, Mkhuleko Hlengwa says traffic volumes are higher during this timeframe, and most fatalities have been associated with driver fatigue, drunk driving, and other risky behaviours.
Hlengwa has also raised concern over drivers using cell phones behind the wheel, calling it a growing problem.
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He was speaking during an Easter road safety campaign in the Eastern Cape on Sunday.
"Because it's dark, our road users who are pedestrians in areas where they are not supposed to be walking, interrupt the fair flow of traffic. The usage of cell phones behind the steering wheel, particularly for content creation, which is behaviour being done by both the drivers and the passengers.
"Those five seconds interruption behind the steering wheel because of a use of a cell phone impacts negatively on your response time to the ecosystem. So, the usage of cell phones is in itself very, very problematic."
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