Despite the dangers of driving at high speeds, especially in suburban areas, reckless local drivers continue to put theirs, as well as others' lives at risk.
In a recent incident, on Monday, June 25, on the corner of Azure Street and 7th Avenue, Laudium, an accident occurred at around 5pm, leaving both the victims and witnesses traumatised.
According to witnesses, a blue Nissan 1400 bakkie was allegedly speeding down 7th Avenue and allegedly failed to stop at the T-junction stop sign, resulting in a crash with a white VW Polo, traveling down Azure Street. Netcare 911, Safe-T-Med and Laudium Disaster Management (LDM) were all at the scene.
The Laudium Sun spoke with Samuel Daniel Mabasa (59), a Bengal Street resident, who works at a home on Azure Street. Samuel has been a local resident for 19 years and was a witness to the accident, which he described as terrible, accounting for the alleged negligence of the bakkie driver. "The bakkie driver, who I think is from Malawi, came down 7th Avenue at high speed and did not stop at the stop sign," said Samuel.
"I see this happening very often. People drive recklessly down this road and do not stop. This time, unfortunately, an accident happened, but fortunately no one was seriously injured,” he said.
Samuel also expressed hope that people would take this accident as an eye-opener, and be more careful when driving in that area.
The Laudium Sun team approached Ahmed Ismail of the LDM, who said, "I was there in a personal capacity, as the driver of the Polo is a family member. She is still shaken up by the accident, but thankfully no one sustained any serious injuries."
Ahmed also urged drivers to obey the laws of using the roads, and to avoid traveling at high speeds, especially in residential areas, such as Laudium.
The bakkie drove into this VW Polo, causing considerable damage to the left side of the vehicle.
Samuel Daniel Mabasa (59), witnessed the accident.