Regardless of spring being in full swing, the previous weekend within the highveld offered a frigid spell which has brought about chaos on the N3 and in and across the Drakensberg, with roads being snowed in.
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Over the weekend, areas of the Drakensberg and N3 freeway have been severely restricted with heavy snowfall. Issues have been exacerbated by an inflow of site visitors travelling between Johannesburg and Durban for the lengthy weekend in celebration of Heritage Day tomorrow. The driving situations have been so treacherous and tough that stationery motorists ultimately needed to make do till situations improved and the thick layer of snow was cleared off of the arterial route by rescue groups and snow ploughs.
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Regardless of the winter wonderland, the authorities inspired street customers, residents and guests to remain clear except completely mandatory. Over the interval, two have been reported to have died from hyperthermia after being trapped within the situations for a number of hours.
KZN – R103 Route: #SNOW ROAD CLOSED Estcourt to Mooi River – over 200 autos recovered in a single day pic.twitter.com/74XqwgLPyp
— TrafficSA (@TrafficSA) September 21, 2024
One of many foremost routes affected by the snowed-in situations has been the N3 which noticed sections of the route close to Van Reenen’s Go piled with inches of heavy snowfall and icy situations. This brought about site visitors delays and lengthy queues as autos, together with vans and buses, have been unable to securely proceed their journeys. Site visitors authorities suggested motorists to postpone journey plans or search various routes the place potential, warning of continued delays and harmful driving situations. In accordance with stories yesterday, equipment solely managed to clear key roads for site visitors yesterday however the situations stay opposed and have solely begun to naturally dissipate immediately.
Particular tribute to the hard-working groups on roads in KZN https://t.co/iBkxbgvnp7 #ArriveAlive #Respect @N3Route @KZNTransport @SANRAL_za @Dotransport @GovernmentZA
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) September 23, 2024
In gentle of this surprising phenomenon and snowed-in roads, the South African government has additionally issued some key ideas for safer driving.
- Lower your pace and go away your self loads of room to cease. You need to enable at the very least thrice more room than regular between you and the automobile in entrance of you.
- Brake gently to keep away from skidding. In case your wheels begin to lock up, ease off the brake.
- Flip in your lights to extend your visibility to different motorists.
- Maintain your lights and windshield clear.
- Use low gears to maintain traction, particularly on hills.
- Don’t use cruise management or overdrive on icy roads.
- Be particularly cautious on bridges, overpasses and sometimes travelled roads, which is able to freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the situations are moist, you may encounter ice in shady areas or on uncovered roadways like bridges.
- Don’t go snow ploughs and sanding vans. The drivers have restricted visibility, and also you’re prone to discover the street in entrance of them worse than the street behind.
- Don’t assume your car can deal with all situations. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive autos can encounter hassle on icy roads.
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