There is speeding and then there is excessive speeding, and the latter is an arrestable offence that put hundreds of drivers on the wrong side of the law during the recent holiday period.
The Department of Transport (DOT) announced this week that 414 motorists were arrested over the 2024/2025 festive season for driving at excessive speeds, with five of them having been clocked at over 200km/h.
The fastest among them was the driver of a BMW sedan, who was caught driving at 245km/h on the N1 freeway near Honeydew on December 18. Police did not specify the model type.
The focus on excessive speed has continued into January, with Gauteng traffic police concentrating on 80km/h zones, where cross traffic can make for more dangerous conditions than on a freeway.
In the past week the Johannesburg Metro Police Department’s (JMPD) High Speed Unit arrested eight motorists in Lanseria, nine in Midrand and a further 15 in Lenasia, with the former operation having caught one motorist travelling at 162km/h in an 80km/h zone.
Legally speaking, a motorist can be arrested for exceeding the speed limit by just 30km/h in an urban area or on a public road outside an urban area, according to Section 35 of the National Road Traffic Act, or by 40km/h on a freeway.
Excessive speed, which reduces reaction times and exponentially increases the severity of an accident, was linked to numerous fatal road accidents which took place over the festive season.
In addition to the aforementioned speeding cases, 3,840 motorists were arrested for drunken driving over the festive season.
The period saw 1,502 deaths resulting from 1,234 fatal crashes, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced on Monday, which represents a 5.3% increase over the previous year.
“There must be consequences for drivers who break the law with wanton disregard for the lives of other road users, whether it is for speeding or drunk driving or any other offence which warrants arrest and prosecution,” Creecy said.
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