RC Myburgh
High speed drivers were not tolerated over the Festive Season by law enforcement officials of the Department of Roads and Transport. Sixty motorists were arrested for excessive speeding in the period 5 December to 15 January. 
Two motorists were arrested in the Waterberg district for respectively driving 225 and 214 km/h in a 120 km/h zone. They were granted bail of R2 000 by the time of their arrests. In Capricorn district a motorist was caught for driving 132 km/h in an 80 km/h zone. 
Arrests were also made in other districts of motorists driving 126 km/h in a 60 km/h zone, 142 km/h in an 80 km/h zone and 124 km/h in a 60 km/h zone. 
The road traffic report for this period indicates that 191 510 vehicles were stopped and screened of which 12 884 were tested for roadworthiness, 1 345 discontinued, 344 impounded, 35 206 notices issued and 4 357 motorists arrested. Furthermore 13 698 drivers were tested for driving under the influence of alcohol of which 228 were arrested for drunken driving. 
The department also hit hard on motorists with outstanding warrants carrying out 3 981 arrests in this regard. Other arrests include 6 drunken pedestrians, 6 reckless and negligent drivers, 22 overloaded vehicles, 2 drivers without driving licences, 11 for presenting false documents and 11 for miscellaneous transgressions including bribery. Thirty drivers were found to be without the necessary taxi or public transport permits for the vehicles they were driving.
Among the interesting cases the department had to deal with over the Festive Season included was a taxi driver arrested for speeding at 145 km/h instead of the permitted 100 km/h. 
Rathoge Traffic Control Centre stopped two trucks one of which one was overloaded with 80 passengers and another with 16 travelling in the goods compartment. 
Both drivers were prosecuted and the vehicles discontinued. 
Rathoge also stopped two abnormal loads and the drivers had to pay R6 000 admittance of guilt each. The loads were kept at the traffic control centre from 20 December until 3 January. 
At Mantsole Traffic Control Centre a drunken driver was arrested and it was established that the man, an undocumented foreigner, was driving a stolen vehicle using a fraudulent driver’s licence.