The Gauteng Traffic Police have this month arrested more than 70 motorists for allegedly driving recklessly and negligently.
“The Gauteng Traffic Police High Speed Unit has been successful in clamping down on speedsters due to the use of the latest technological devices during their operations such as the Moving Violation Recorders (MVR). The MVR records the average speed measured over a minimum of 500 meters,” the Gauteng Traffic Police said on Sunday.
The event is recorded and downloaded for investigation and prosecution purposes.
“Road fatalities are caused by driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless and negligent driving as well as excessive speeding. The Gauteng Traffic Police High Speed Unit will be on high alert by continuing to conduct patrols on Gauteng’s major routes to ensure that motorists adhere to the general speed limit,” Gauteng Traffic Police spokesperson Sello Maremane said.
The speedsters were arrested during high-speed operations conducted along Gauteng’s major routes since the beginning of this month.
The Gauteng Traffic Police has urged motorists to continue to exercise the necessary caution by adhering to the rules of the road, and drive at a prescribed speed limit in order to save the lives of passengers and other road users.
The highest speed was recorded on Thursday night when a 27-year-old male was caught driving a Mercedes Benz E 200 at 215 km/h which is over the prescribed maximum limit of 120 km/h on the N1 North Freeway, at Botha Avenue.
In another incident on the same day, a 35-year-old man was arrested on the R21 freeway in Irene after he was found to be speeding in a Range Rover Sport at 204 km/h in a 120km/h zone. The driver claimed he was rushing his manager to a place of work.
“Both drivers were detained at Lyttelton Police Station where they were formally charged with reckless and negligent driving as well as exceeding the prescribed speed limit of 120km/h on a freeway. They have since been released on bail of R2 000 and R2 500 respectively and are expected to appear at the Pretoria Magistrates Court this week,” Gauteng Traffic Police said. – SAnews.gov.za
