{"id":76030,"date":"2017-11-29T15:05:54","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T13:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/?p=76030"},"modified":"2017-12-01T11:15:28","modified_gmt":"2017-12-01T09:15:28","slug":"busiest-road-mpumalanga-geared-holiday-traffic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2017\/11\/29\/busiest-road-mpumalanga-geared-holiday-traffic\/","title":{"rendered":"Busiest road in Mpumalanga geared up for holiday traffic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The South African National Road Agency (SANRAL) this week confirmed to <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/\" target=\"_blank\">www.mobserver.co.za<\/a><\/strong> that the N4 highway is the busiest road in Mpumalanga.<\/p>\n<p>The December holidays bring more vehicles on to the roads and this increases the risk of accidents inherent to driving.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quote-solid\"><p>\u201cRoad safety is a major challenge during this period,\u201d says Mr Skhumbuzo Macozoma, CEO of SANRAL.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cAlthough there is a major drive from many institutions around road safety, accident statistics remain unacceptably high.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_49528\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49528\" style=\"width: 520px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49528\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2016\/05\/BJMEI52-2-16_31945-520x390.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2016\/05\/BJMEI52-2-16_31945-520x390.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2016\/05\/BJMEI52-2-16_31945-270x203.jpg 270w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2016\/05\/BJMEI52-2-16_31945.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-49528\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Michael de Lange from Masiwilange, the roadside and accident response contractor for TRAC, speaks to journalists during an accident simulation on the N4.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4>The main factors that cause accidents:<\/h4>\n<p>According to the 2016\/2017 annual report by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC):<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>80% of road accidents in South Africa can be attributed to human factors, such as speeding and reckless behaviour.<\/li>\n<li>Roads and environmental factors account for 17%.<\/li>\n<li>The rest is due to vehicle factors such as road-worthiness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThis festive season SANRAL will redouble its efforts to promote road safety. We have been travelling on our roads to assess their condition and visited several construction zones to determine the extent of roadworks and their impact on traffic.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"quote-solid\"><p>SANRAL is happy to report that the roads are ready to accommodate the holiday traffic,\u201d says Mr Macozoma.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Motorists can look forward to a safe journey on the national network, with its high-quality roads, toll plazas with minor delays, 24-hour emergency services and law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Motorists can visit the SANRAL website (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nra.co.za\/live\/index.php?Session_ID=ed38f6eb851e0bb5acc8a90a98197139\" target=\"_blank\"><b>www.nra.co.za<\/b><\/a>) for help in planning their journeys.<\/p>\n<p>This December SANRAL will also be rolling out the WHOA! campaign to reinforce the message of responsible road user behaviour to reduce road accidents and deaths.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Macozoma also called on motorists to heed all calls to stay safe on the roads.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo things differently this festive season. Be responsible for your life and for that of fellow road-users. Don\u2019t drink and drive, don\u2019t text and drive and don\u2019t text and walk.\u201d<\/p>\n<h4>The current toll fees at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tracn4.co.za\/middelburg-plaza.html\" target=\"_blank\">Middelburg Toll Plaza<\/a>:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>R56 for light vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R121 for medium heavy vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R183 for large heavy vehicles and<\/li>\n<li>R241 for extra large heavy vehicles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Toll fees at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tracn4.co.za\/machado-plaza.html\" target=\"_blank\">Machado Toll Plaza<\/a> are:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>R83 for light vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R231 for medium heavy vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R337 \u00a0for large heavy vehicles and<\/li>\n<li>R481 for extra large heavy vehicles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Toll fees at the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tracn4.co.za\/nkomazi-plaza.html\" target=\"_blank\">Nkomazi Toll Plaza<\/a> are:<\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>R63 for light vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R128 for medium heavy vehicles,<\/li>\n<li>R186 for large heavy vehicles and<\/li>\n<li>R267 for extra large heavy vehicles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Other news:<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/76019\/warning-severe-storms-possible-today\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Warning: Severe thunderstorms possible today<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/75989\/woman-suffocated-set-alight-cut-pieces\/\" target=\"_blank\">Woman suffocated, set alight and cut into pieces<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/75645\/policeman-hijacked-shot-whilst-returning-from-crime-scene\/\" target=\"_blank\">Policeman hijacked, shot whilst returning from crime scene<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/75664\/woman-claims-muti-made-her-teeth-fall-out\/\" target=\"_blank\">Woman claims muti made her teeth fall out<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/afp\/332583\/watch-miss-south-africa-crowned-miss-universe-2017\" target=\"_blank\">Watch: Miss South Africa crowned Miss Universe 2017<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/75966\/neem-n-troeteldier-aan-2\/\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>Adopt a pet for Christmas, don&#8217;t buy one<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<h3>Want breaking news on the go?<\/h3>\n<p>Add us on WhatsApp. Save the Middelburg Observer standby number 072 248 3855 on your phone and send a WhatsApp message with the words \u201cAdd me\u201d to receive news links.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SANRAL is happy to report that the roads are ready to accommodate the holiday traffic,\u201d says Mr Macozoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5031,"featured_media":76031,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Attie Dippenaar","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[9556,9555,2996,5644,9563,9557,21966,9562,9558,4547,21990,901,1189,9564,6098,9561,9559,9560,4715],"class_list":["post-76030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news-headlines","tag-busiest-road","tag-busiest-road-in-mpmalanga","tag-emalahleni","tag-holiday","tag-machado-toll-gate","tag-mbombela","tag-middelburg","tag-middelburg-toll-gate","tag-moz","tag-mozambique","tag-mpumalanga","tag-n4","tag-nelspruit","tag-nkomazi-toll-gate","tag-sanral","tag-toll-fees","tag-travelling-to-moz","tag-travelling-to-the-lowveld","tag-witbank"],"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Local news"},"tag_labels":["busiest road","busiest road in mpmalanga","emalahleni","Holiday","Machado toll gate","mbombela","middelburg","Middelburg toll gate","moz","mozambique","Mpumalanga","n4","Nelspruit","Nkomazi toll gate","SANRAL","toll fees","travelling to moz","travelling to the lowveld","Witbank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76030"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76030\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}