The fast and the furious: Porsche SUV driver from Gauteng arrested for clocking 179km/h in KZN

A Gauteng-based motorist has been arrested in KwaZulu-Natal for speeding after allegedly clocking 179 km/h in a 120 km/h zone.

KwaZulu-Natal Department of Transport and Human Settlements spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said authorities were heavily deployed across the province to clamp down on speeding, drunk driving and other traffic violations during the festive season.

Sibiya said the provincial MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, was satisfied with the execution of the #NenzaniLaEzweni road safety operations by the Road Traffic Inspectorate.

“The MEC is quite happy with the manner in which our highly efficient team is executing the #NenzaniLaEzweni operations. We are also pleased with the response from members of the public, who appreciate the visibility on our roads,” Sibiya told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika at one of several roadblocks.

He said more than 2,500 motorists had been arrested for drunk driving since 15 August.

“We are also looking at more than 74,000 vehicles that have been searched in KwaZulu-Natal since the beginning of the festive season. The MEC is quite happy with how we are proceeding with all these operations,” he said.

Sibiya added that several arrests had been made in Pietermaritzburg through joint operations involving the Msunduzi Traffic Police and the National Traffic Police deployed by the national Department of Transport.

Commenting on the white Porsche sport utility vehicle, Sibiya said the driver failed to stop when instructed to do so by law enforcement officers and was later arrested for speeding.

Across South Africa, traffic law enforcement has been ramped up as part of national festive season road safety efforts. Authorities have conducted hundreds of roadblocks, with the Road Traffic Management Corporation and provincial partners issuing tens of thousands of fines and carrying out thousands of arrests for drunken and reckless driving, excessive speeding, and other violations since early December.

Traffic authorities nationwide have reported thousands of arrests for drunk driving and hundreds more for other traffic offences as part of a zero-tolerance approach to festive season lawlessness.

Officials say high-visibility enforcement aims to reduce the traditionally high number of crashes and fatalities during the holiday travel peak.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News  

Get your news on the go. Download the latest IOL App for Android and IOS now.