The Gauteng Traffic Police has called upon drivers to adhere to the rules of the road following the arrest of seven drivers aged between 32 and 60 for allegedly speeding.

“Excessive speeding significantly contributes to the high number of road fatalities in the province. We call upon drivers to adhere to the general speed limit on Gauteng major routes in order to save lives,” Gauteng Traffic Police spokesperson, Sello Maremane, said on Monday.

The average speed of the drivers ranged from 166 km/h to 215 km/h.

“The highest speedster arrested was a 41-year-old who was caught driving a Silver Mercedes Benz G63 at a 215km per hour speed on a prescribed maximum speed limit of 120km per hour on the N1 South. The speedster was detained at Sinoville police station. The driver claimed he was running away from hijackers upon his arrest,” the Gauteng Traffic Police said.

The rest of the drivers were detained at various police stations such as Olievenhoutbosch, Olifantsfontein and Werdabrug amongst others. The arrests were made during a high-speed unit operation that was conducted along the major routes and freeways in Gauteng over the weekend.

The speedsters face charges relating to reckless and negligent driving with an alternative charge of exceeding the prescribed maximum limit of 120km/h on a freeway.

The Gauteng Traffic Police High Speed Unit successfully clamped down on speedsters due to the use of the latest technological devices during their operations such as the Moving Violation Recorders (MVR).

The MVR records the average speed measured over a minimum of 500 meters. The event is recorded and downloaded for investigation and prosecution purposes.

“The Gauteng Traffic Police High Speed Unit will continue to conduct high speed operations and apprehend drivers who continuously endanger the lives of road users,” Maremane said.

Source: South African Government News Agency