On the evening of Thursday, September 26, we experienced another serious motor vehicle accident on Kloof Nek Road in the City Bowl.
This was the third accident along this stretch of road in just more than a year where a heavy duty vehicle lost control.
With every accident our City’s emergency services respond quickly to the scene, and thankfully to date there have been no fatalities.
Of course the trauma, the cost, and the damage to property can’t be ignored.
As the Ward Councillor for the area, I have engaged extensively with the City’s Urban Mobility Department to implement measures to reduce speed and improve safety on Kloof Nek Road.
We’ve changed the signage all along Kloof Nek Road to reflect the fact that the speed limit has been reduced from 60km/h to 50km/h.
This includes the signage on the Camps Bay Drive approach which also has warning lights.
Importantly, the speed camera on Kloof Nek Road is fully operational.
We’ve included signage near the top of Kloof Nek Road to remind truck drivers to gear down, which is preferable to relying solely on brakes, as they are sometimes at risk of failing on steep declines.
The City also installed a new signalised pedestrian crossing at the top of Kloof Nek Road, at the intersection of Tafelberg Road and Signal Hill Drive.
The signalised crossing improves pedestrian safety, while easing congestion for those coming off Tafelberg Road or Signal Hill Drive, giving them an opportunity to exit on to Kloof Nek Road during peak hours. It has a further added benefit of slowing traffic from Camps Bay.
These measures have made a considerable impact on addressing speeding concerns.
There have been added suggestions of installing speed bumps, however Kloof Nek Road is a Class 2 Major Arterial Road, connecting drivers from Phillip Kgosana to the Atlantic Seaboard.
Unfortunately, speed bumps are not a feasible solution to improving road safety on the stretch.
Given the road gradient, speed bumps could effectively become launch pads for those who fail to slow down in time.
Residents are also calling for a ban on trucks along Kloof Nek Road, but this wouldn’t be possible either, given that Kloof Nek Road is a major thoroughfare to facilitate access between the City Bowl and Atlantic Seaboard.
Redirecting these vehicles along the coastal road would greatly exacerbate traffic congestion in that area.
We will continue to work to identify additional opportunities to implement speed reduction and road safety measures, but ultimately we also have to recognise that the cause of many of the vehicle accidents on our roads is due to driver behaviour and vehicle roadworthiness.
The City and Provincial governments have enforcement mechanisms in place to handle these issues, and our officials are committed to doing everything possible to ensure drivers and owners obey the law.
According the National Road Traffic Act, no one is allowed to operate a motor vehicle on a public road if it is not roadworthy.
For most motor vehicle owners, you are only required to get your motor vehicle tested for roadworthiness during a change of ownership.
However, if your motor vehicle is used for public transport or is a heavy-load vehicle (excluding buses), it must be tested annually. A bus must be tested for roadworthiness every six months.
The responsibility is on the owner or operator of that vehicle to ensure that it is safe to be on the road, and that the vehicle and the driver can handle the conditions of a road.
In the case of Kloof Nek Road, for example, there is clear signage warning drivers and telling them to gear down coming down the hill.
Drivers of heavy duty trucks should be experienced enough to know that when driving down long, steep hills, they should shift to a lower gear and not ride their brakes at the risk of them failing.
While the law is very clear about what is required in respect of roadworthiness, the question is whether this is being adhered to.
More regular checking and enforcement to ensure that these vehicles comply with the rules and regulations of the road traffic act in respect of roadworthiness will significantly lower the chances of technical issues that cause crashes on our roads.
Last night I was joined at the scene of the accident by Urban Mobility MEC Isaac Sileku; and given the severity of what we saw, I am engaging further with him to request that he please consider a provincial road safety campaign. It should remind owners and operators of trucks and heavy-duty vehicles of their obligations to ensure their vehicles are roadworthy and also set about ensuring greater enforcement of this aspect of the National Road Traffic Act.
While we can, and will, continue to implement measures to improve road safety on our roads, we can’t infrastructure our way out of every problem. Road safety is in part also due to the decisions made by all road users.
* Francine Higham, Ward Councillor.
** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.
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