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News24
14-07-2025
- News24
‘Deeply troubling': 12 lives lost on North West roads over tragic weekend
A series of road accidents across the North West between 11 and 13 July claimed 12 lives, with cases of culpable homicide under investigation. Fatal crashes included a head-on collision involving four vehicles on the N4 near Groot Marico, which claimed five lives, and another deadly crash on the N18 near Mahikeng, which killed four. MEC Wessels Morweng emphasised that reckless driving and overtaking were key contributors to the weekend's tragedies. A devastating weekend on North West roads claimed the lives of 12 people between Friday and Sunday. The tragic series of accidents has raised fresh concerns over road safety in the province. The North West community safety and transport department confirmed the fatalities on Monday morning, detailing a string of horrific incidents across the region. MEC Wessels Morweng expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to those injured. Morweng also confirmed that culpable homicide cases are under investigation for each incident. The first tragedy unfolded on Friday on the N14 near Tshing in Ventersdorp, where one person lost their life. Later that evening, a catastrophic head-on collision involving four vehicles on the N4 near Groot Marico claimed five more lives. READ | Four women killed in N4 multi-vehicle crash in Mpumalanga The crash occurred when two delivery vehicles, reportedly from the same company and with one towing the other, overtook illegally across a barrier line. They collided with two oncoming vehicles, and four women and one man were killed at the scene. The injured occupants of the delivery vehicles were transported to a hospital. The death toll rose again on Saturday when a pedestrian died in a hit-and-run outside Potchefstroom on the N12, heading towards Stilfontein. On Sunday evening, another head-on collision occurred between a light sedan and a light delivery vehicle on the N18 near Setlagole. Tragically, all four occupants of the sedan – three men and one woman – died at the scene. The sedan was reportedly overtaking when the collision occurred. READ | Western Cape roads: 23 people killed in a week, 57 arrested for drunk driving In a separate incident near Madiba Makgabana village, a vehicle travelling towards Mafikeng struck a stray cow. Another vehicle, closely following behind, hit the same animal. Three occupants sustained serious injuries, while a child travelling with them died at the scene. 'In total, the weekend's road accidents resulted in 12 confirmed fatalities,' Morweng stated. 'The loss of so many lives in one weekend is deeply troubling,' he said. He added, 'We call on motorists to exercise caution and always obey road rules. Recklessness costs lives.' He has urged all road users to remain alert when travelling on high-traffic national routes.
The Herald
12-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
Home affairs to help print driving licences to clear backlog
Creecy said the two departments had agreed that the process would not take more than three months. The transport department's printing machine, which is more than 25 years old, has repeatedly broken down, resulting in huge backlogs. In February, the machine was out of operation, which resulted in a backlog of outstanding cards to be printed. According to the department, on July 5 the backlog stood at 602,831 cards. Gauteng was leading with 192,856, followed by the Western Cape with 86,862, and KwaZulu-Natal with 85,313. However, between May 8 and July 7, the department managed to process 515,758 cards. 'If you have a driver's licence that expires now, you have six months in which to get your permanent licence,' Creecy said. 'There would be a lot of people in the queue whose six months is up, so we have said they cannot be penalised because this is not of their making. So people must keep their receipts of when they applied, then they can't be fined. 'Also, they do not have to apply again. A lot of people have temporary licences, but now those licences are expiring again. But they don't have to apply again because that would be unfair. So we have waived that provision.' SowetanLIVE
The Herald
11-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
Is it time for the government to rethink how we issue driver's licences?
After months of frustration for motorists, the transport department has confirmed the country's only driver's licence card printing machine is now up and running. The machine broke down on February 5, halting production and creating a backlog of 747,748 licence cards. Gauteng leads the list with more than 250,000 outstanding cards, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape. To catch up, the Driving Licence Card Agency will extend staff working hours — but the backlog also depends on how many new orders arrive each day. With long waits, outdated systems and only one card printing machine serving the country, is it time for a complete rethink?
