Transport Minister to lead roadblocks in the Eastern Cape

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga is expected to lead several roadblocks in the Eastern Cape ahead of New Year’s weekend.

Chikunga together with her counterpart in the province, Xolile Nqatha, will be checking the fitness of drivers and the roadworthiness of vehicles.

Since the start of the festive season over 4 160 drivers have been arrested for suspected drunk driving.

The visit by Chikunga also comes after the death of legendary artist Mbongeni Ngema following an accident on the R61 in Mbizana on Wednesday.

Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga launches Festive Road Safety Campaign

Last week Chikunga urged road users to drive responsibly and be mindful of other drivers on the road during the festive season.

She said the department has already seen an unprecedented amount of fatal crashes, especially over long weekends.

She said 86% of road crashes are due to human behaviour.

“If you look at the patterns, this is extremely worrying for us because it would seem like long weekends mean nothing but binging on alcohol and driving, and people walking on our streets being drunk. Therefore it’s a combination of drunk drivers and drunk pedestrians, followed by hit-and-runs and cars that overturn by themselves. So we’re not doing well at all as a country in terms of fatalities and fatal crashes,” added Chikunga.