Van Reenen jackknife truck A jack knifed truck came close to causing catastrophe on Van Reenen's Pass last Thursday. Picture: YouTube
Image: YouTube
South Africa’s roads have seen some tragic accidents over the festive season, but thankfully disaster was averted in the incident recorded in this video, posted on YouTube by SA Trucker.
A passenger of a truck was recording a video of the driver going up Van Reenen’s Pass in KwaZulu-Natal on December 19, when another truck travelling in the opposite direction lost control and jackknifed.
The truck then veered into the oncoming lane, but thankfully the driver being recorded in the video was not travelling too fast and was alert enough to bring his truck to a stop, averting disaster by mere metres.
It is also incredibly lucky that no other motorists were caught in the crossfire of this truck driver veering head-on into the oncoming lane.
But it also serves as a valuable reminder that accidents like this can happen in a split second, and sticking to the speed limit and paying attention can either help you avert disaster or reduce the severity of a collision, even if you are the “innocent victim” of another out-of-control vehicle.
Incidentally, Van Reenen’s Pass saw another multi-vehicle pile-up on Thursday, close to the scene of the jackknifed truck. Traffic was backed up heavily in both directions on the day.
It has been a deadly festive season on South Africa’s roads thus far, with 512 fatalities recorded from December 2 to 15, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced on Saturday. This is a 3.1% increase over the same period in 2023.
“Despite all the efforts we have made to heighten law enforcement through the effective coordination of law enforcement operations by the Road Traffic Management Corporation, we still have seen a significant increase in fatal road traffic crashes so far in the festive season,” Creecy said.
“The statistics are a stark reminder of the consequences of reckless and negligent road behaviour,” she added.
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