North West, Majakaneng: Crossing the freeway is not only deemed dangerous to road users but also an illegal act which leads to an arrest.
During a recent operation conducted by the Provincial Traffic Authorities and members of the South African Police Service (SAPS), about 19 pedestrians were arrested on the N4 road in Majakaneng.
The people arrested were charged R300 each for transgression of the National Road Traffic Act, 93 1996.
The Provincial Road Safety Management officials said the N4 in Majakaneng is identified as a hotspot in the Bojanala District with a high number of fatalities involving pedestrians.
This leads to more road safety campaigns targeting farm workers who cross the N4 on a daily basis to reach their workplaces in farms outside Majakaneng.
The objective of the campaigns is to raise awareness of the dangers of crossing the N4 freeway, an act which is not only illegal but dangerous as well.
The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management, through its Road Traffic Management and Road Safety Management Directorates, pleads with road users in general to comply with the Road Act and not to find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
Last month, Police arrested eight people for endangering their lives by crossing highways in the Ojota area of Lagos and have been arraigned before a Special Offences Court, Bolade-Oshodi.
They were arraigned on a one-count charge of conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace by crossing the highways, contravening the Criminal Laws of the State.
The Corps Marshal of the Lagos Environmental Sanitation Corps, LAGESC, popularly known as KAI, Gbemisola Akinpelu, in a statement, said that it appears that some people are bent on risking their lives by crossing highways, which could result in ‘hit and run’ cases by speeding motorists and defaulters must be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent.
Akinpelu highlighted that the defaulters bagged hours of community services and fines, respectively, to serve as deterrents to other recalcitrant pedestrians.
She renewed the charge to the Agency’s operatives strategically stationed across the State highways and roads to apprehend pedestrians in the habit of endangering their lives.
Akinpelu, who emphasized the need for pedestrians to use pedestrian bridges, warned street traders and hawkers to desist from displaying their wares on, beneath, or around bridges meant for pedestrians’ safety when crossing highways.