Motorists using the R64 Route contend with the risk caused by partially visible road signs, several of which are covered with natural vegetation.
BloemExpress has taken photos of one such sign along this Free State road connecting towns such as Boshof and Dealesville, and ultimately the Northern Cape province.
Statistics pertaining to road safety has proven that road signs overgrown by natural vegetation create safety hazards for motorists, impacting visibility and potentially masking crucial information. This leads to drivers’ disorientation resulting in accidents and delays.
With Worker’s Day recently being observed, thoughts were cast back to a case of this risk involving a bus transporting trade union delegates from Kimberley to Qwaqwa to celebrate May Day on 1 May 2003.
A total of 51 passengers were killed after the bus sank rapidly in the Sol Plaatje Dam, formerly Saulspoort, following impact with the water – trapping the passengers underwater.
Part of the findings made in investigating the accident afterwards pointed to a lack of visible road signs and gates on the dam’s access roads, compounded by believed negligence on the driver’s part in his failure to prepare for the trip according to a route beforehand.
Additional blame was put on the condition of the bus – which was an old model and found to not possess efficient emergency exits or safety equipment, as well as apparently having poor brakes.
