Stop-street blitz: 58 offenders filmed

VANDERBIJLPARK, Gauteng - In February 2014, Wheels24 published a video showing at least nine drivers breaking the law at crossroads in Centurion, Gauteng. The inevitable happened when a Land Rover and Volvo crashed at the four-way stop.

Now another reader has sent evident of laziness and stupidity - the causes of so many crashes on South Africa's roads. It's nearly five minutes of drivers behaving badly...

VIDEO: 58 traffic violations in under 5mins

Wheels24 reader BAREND WASSERMAN claims to have captured ‘58’ traffic violations in less than five minutes at an intersection in Vanderbijlpark.

The video, taken at the junction of Edison Boulevard and Ahrbeck street in Vanderbijlpark, shows dozens of vehicles barely slow and others brazenly blow through the junction.

At 2min52 a red tow-truck doesn't even pretend to stop.

NAME AND SHAME

Waasserman said: “Poor (driving) habits have become the norm. This is a clear example of poor driving habits. I'm abiding to the rules of the road because they were created for a reason.

"I think those who do not abide by the rules of the road should be named and shamed. It's not just private vehicles violating the rules of the road. In the video you can clearly see company drivers do exactly the same thing.”
 
Wasserman lists some of the offending company vehicles in the video:
 RAM Hand to Hand
 PG Glass
 Talisman tool hire
 ABI
 Funeral Services
 Towing services
 AfriSam

'IT SEEMS NOBODY REALLY CARES'

Wheels24 spoke to FLIP NORTJE, owner of Twin City Auto Craft, one of the businesses in the area. Nortje said that driving through stop streets was a common occurrence in the area.

"Around here, drivers know that if you want to stop, you better make sure nobody is behind you. Traffic authorities don’t really patrol here though it was a very different story 12 years ago. It seems nobody really cares these days.

“Oddly enough there aren’t many crashes, perhaps one a week.“

Wasserman said: “Aren't companies supposed to do vehicle checks and risk assessments with their drivers before taking they hit the road? Health and safety practices should be implemented in companies. Why aren't measures put in place by government to clampdown on these fools?

“Government wants to know why there's so many crashes on our road. The only time they actually care about road deaths is during the December holidays and ask ‘So many people have died over festive season, we will have to investigate this!’"

Wasserman shares some advice for law enforcement: “Cops should stop standing or sitting around in the shade and start doing their work. Not just pulling over for speeding and setting up road blocks.

"They should be constantly keeping an eye open for offenders, from those who litter to erratic and reckless drivers.”

The clip ends with footage from the horrific crash in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal killed 23 people.

Do you frequent the intersection featured in the video? What do you think should be done to curb poor driving habits? Email us your thoughts and we'll publish them on Wheels24.