15 busses impounded on Moloto Road

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Pretoria -The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) co-ordinated a major road block on the notorious Moloto Road between Pretoria and KwaMhlanga on Monday, following a spate of fatal accidents.

A total of 85 busses were stopped during the road block which was held between 6am and 9am. Fifteen of them were impounded, three for fitness and 12 had invalid permits. One bus driver was arrested for recklessness and negligence.

The roadblock not only targeted busses; 30 motorists were issued with Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) notices.

AARTO is still at a pilot stage in Tshwane and Johannesburg metros and it has not yet been rolled out nationally. The national roll out for AARTO is expected in 2010.

The road block involved the efforts of the Tshwane Metro Police, the Gauteng Provincial Traffic Services, the Gauteng Public Transport Inspectorate, the Mpumalanga Traffic Services, the Nokeng Local Traffic Authority and the Kameeldrift police.

Earlier this month, four people died when the bus they were travelling in overturned next to the Kameeldrift Police Station. In another incident, 10 people were burnt to death when a bus collided with a truck and burst into flames.

The RTMC has appealed to motorists to pre-check their vehicles before embarking on any trip as well as report bad driving at 0861 400 800.