Durban - The Mthonjaneni Municipality in Melmoth has banned trucks from travelling through the northern KwaZulu-Natal town.
The municipality said in a statement that it had resolved in a recent council meeting, which was led by mayor Mbangiseni Biyela, to ban all trucks from using the Piet Retief, R66 and R34 roads that run through the area.
It said this action came after complaints from community members about reckless and negligent driving and speeding by truck drivers.
The municipality added that there had been three recent accidents on the R66 and all of them involved trucks, adding that a decision to ban trucks was the only resolution that could be taken.
“It must be remembered that his worship the mayor in 2022 raised concerns regarding the ability of the road to withstand the high volume of these trucks, saying that the road was small and had sharp, dangerous curves and a lot of inclines. The condition of the road is also concerning.”
Gavin Kelly, the CEO of the Road Freight Association, said it appeared that local towns were declaring their roads (or specific roads that run through their areas of jurisdiction) as being closed to heavy freight vehicles, or they were banning these vehicles.
“It is important to note that this is both illegal and unlawful – and while a local authority can implement by-laws, any proclamation relating to the use/prohibition of the use of a public road is clearly and strictly regulated by the National Road Traffic Act (NRTA).
“No ‘decree’ can emanate from any local authority as to which type or class of vehicle may or may not travel on a public road without the correct signage being displayed.”
Kelly added that communities needed to understand the consequences of such actions.
“Banning all trucks means that no trucks will travel to and into the areas now identified. If this really means ‘goods vehicles’ as defined by the act, then no goods will come to the town. Food, medicines, fuel and many other commodities are goods.”
Kelly said that the relevant MECs for Transport were responsible for ensuring that the NRTA was applied in their provinces.
“This includes their responsibility and accountability to ensure the traffic management services are consistently applied – and/or concentrated in areas where such control is required.
“The association has repeatedly called on the authorities (at various levels in government) to address the issue of non-compliant operators (transporters), as well as to deal with any offences that are committed (especially where such offences may be repeatedly committed and are the root cause for incidents that occur),” Kelly added.
He said that given the huge increase in coal transport by road through northern areas of the province to Richards Bay, the provincial traffic authority should allocate more resources to the routes that are now carrying far more vehicles.
The KZN Transport Department said it would respond once it had the relevant information.