Motorists have been warned to violate traffic regulations at their own peril this Easter.

In a press release, the Department of Roads and Transport in Limpopo states that it will adopt a zero-tolerance attitude to ensure safety on all the roads.

“As the province is anticipating high traffic volumes from 5 April, the objective is to make a meaningful contribution towards the achievement of  the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety which aims to reduce by 50% the rate of road accident fatalities by 2020 and integrate enforcement tactics with appropriate publicity campaigns,” says the department.

High traffic volumes during the Easter weekend on the roads leading to the province are expected as a result of the annual Moria Pilgrimage and holiday makers from neighbouring provinces and countries.

“We know from the eNaTIS system that we have a huge number of vehicles (buses, minibuses, trucks) that were not submitted for annual roadworthy tests or on change of ownership. And we also have a significant number of vehicles that have failed to renew the vehicles licenses within the time frame allowed,” says the department.

Limpopo also has a significant number of bus, taxi and truck drivers who are on the road with expired professional driving permits. The total vehicle population on the province’s roads is 549 858, with 530 871 being licenced and 18 987 being unlicensed. In total, 4 550 buses and 19 287 taxis use our roads.

“From 1 January to mid-March this year, during our daily law enforcement operations, we have discontinued 868 and impounded 313 unroadworthy vehicles. We have arrested 29 drivers for possessing false documentation and fraudulent operating licences and permits. We will continue with these daily operations during and beyond Easter, closing the net on irresponsible and unlawful drivers and owners,” says the department.

Since the beginning of this year, 75 people have died in 129 crashes in Limpopo. In December 2011, 74 fatalities and 780 injuries were recorded.

During Easter 2011, 25 people lost their lives on the province’s roads, as compared to the 31 recorded fatalities during Easter 2010 (a fatality reduction rate of 19%). During Easter 2008, there were 41 reported fatalities and in 2009, 36 fatalities were recorded.

The main contributory factors to accidents during Easter 2011 were speeding, unroadworthy vehicles, motorists' not maintaining a safe following distance, irresponsible pedestrians, driver fatigue, stray animals and unsafe overtaking.

To ensure safety and compliance on the region's roads with the objective of curtailing crashes, injuries and fatalities, the department will deploy its available resources, and traffic violators will face the full wrath of law enforcement. The province’s 1042 traffic officers and 33 road safety officials will be manning all roads.The department will deploy 378 marked and 136 unmarked traffic police and road safety vehicles on identified priority routes daily, as well as eight patrol vehicles fitted with high-tech moving violation recorders (MVRs) at identified hazardous areas within the province.

The top five priority routes are the N1 between Louis Trichardt and Mokopane, the R521 Dendron road, the R71 Tzaneen/Polokwane road, the R101 Polokwane/Bela-Bela road and the R36 Tzaneen/Lydenburg road.