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Traffic could peak at 3,500 cars an hour on N3 to Durban on Friday

Traffic volumes are expected to increase from Friday on the N3 as holidaymakers travel between Johannesburg and Durban.
Traffic volumes are expected to increase from Friday on the N3 as holidaymakers travel between Johannesburg and Durban.
Image: Lucky Nxumalo

Traffic volumes on the N3 between Johannesburg and Durban are expected to reach up to 3,500 vehicles per hour during peak times as the December holiday gets into full swing on Friday.

The N3 Toll Concession (N3TC) has predicted ahead of the start of the long weekend, that traffic volumes on the route between KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng will be high.

"Slow moving conditions are expected when traffic volumes are high. Heavy volumes can spike up to 2,000 to 3,500 vehicles per hour on peak days," said N3TC’s Miles le Roux.

The company - which monitors traffic patterns, incidents and crashes along the route - found that out of the 933 cases reported between January and October this year, 315 cars and 255 trucks were involved in single vehicle crashes - due to human error.

"Of the total number of crashes recorded during the first 10 months of 2019, the main types of crashes were single vehicles leaving the road or rolling, followed by head-tail collisions, side wipes and multiple pile-ups."

Le Roux said these factors all pointed to negligent driving; speeding, a general lack of concentration, distractedness, ignoring road signs and unroadworthy vehicles.

The N3TC also found that 82.5% of crashes during the first 10 months of the year happened in clear weather.

"For the same period, we have noted a decline in the number of crashes at night from 520 in 2018 to 453 in 2019.

"Up to date there were more accidents during the day (480) than at night (453); but although less, the crashes at night were far more severe than those during the day."

He said, 56% of night time crashes were reported as serious (with severe injuries or fatal), while 44% of daytime crashes were serious.

"The majority of daytime crashes were slight or without injuries.

"These statistics underscore our recommendation rather to travel during the day than at night," said Le Roux.

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