I thought it best to share my concerns will all involved in this road as it seems that no one wants to take responsibility for the lack of traffic law enforcement on Hendrik Potgieter Road.
Let’s look at the most common “new road rules”:
· A turning lane has become the skip the queue lane and force yourself into the go straight lane, and be very aggressive about anyone that dares look at you
· Red light jumping
· The shoulder is a private road for taxis and other drivers alike, and then they create havoc when lanes start to converge
· And then there’s the number of unroadworthy taxis and vehicles on the road.
Hotspots are:
· the intersections of Fredenharry, Nic Diederichs, Johan and Van Staden Roads with Hendrik Potgieter Road
· the make-shift taxi rank on the corner of Hendrik Potgieter and Peter Roads
And some more:
· Most famous funds collections point is between Van Staden and Vanderkloof Road on Hendrik Potgieter Road
· Yellow lane driving – the length of Hendrik Potgieter Road all the way from Clearwater Mall to Cradlestone Mall, in BOTH directions.
And in the peak times when all these new rules are being applied, you have no law enforcement officer in sight.
I have previously raised the same concerns with councillors at Mogale City and was told that it is a politically sensitive situation. Its probably due to the various councillors being taxi owners themselves.
This is clearly an indication that the various metro police teams are more concerned about lining their pockets than enforcing the law.
I have tried to find the email addresses of the various mayors and of JMPD, but it seems they do not have email addresses.
In writing this, I realise that this is probably a futile email and that nothing will be done, except a news article when another crash or road rage incident occurs on Hendrik Potgieter Road and all the powers claim ignorance.
