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Past Issues

April 2005

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Situated on one of the busiest traffic routes in SA, it is one of the most picturesque spots in the country but don't be misled by its gentle beauty for it can turn on you with the viciousness of a heartless predator and destroy you. It's the Van Reenen's Pass on the N3. Patrick O'Leary spent 24-hours with the men and women who ensure that when the beauty turns into a beast, you will get a helping hand. It is a story of The Hill but more so a tribute to these men and women.

The sight which greets motorists and truckers as they come round Windy Corner and start to head down Van Reenen's Pass is an awesome and welcomed one. Awesome because of the sheer magnificence of the surrounding landscape and welcomed because it marks the end of a rather long, boring, flat, straight, no obstructions, two-and-a-half to three-hour drive - longer for trucks - on the highveld plateau from Johannesburg.

The sweeping curve that starts just outside the small town of Van Reenen - which boasts the smallest church in the world - followed by a sharp right bend takes you onto the top of The Hill into a sort of amphitheater surrounded by distant mountains. Driving down the The Hill in clear weather, one fails to notice the many warning signs - including two truck arrestor beds - which tell of the hidden dangers that lie beneath the beauty. On a clear day, the signs are missed as drivers become spectators of nature. Those are the ones for whom The Hill holds warm memories. 

For others, though, The Hill brings into the heart nothing but pain and sorrow for the 'beast' has claimed many a life over the years. It's better now but grave danger still lurks. One man who knows this danger only too well is John Schnell, head of the Road Traffic Inspectorate of KwaZulu-Natal, whose men have worked The Hill for years. He and his team of men and women have enjoyed its beauty but have all too often seen its dark side, walking in the blood of its victims.

Others who know the dark side are the voluntary members of Community Medical Services (CMS) headed by Philip Hull. This is a group of men and women who for the last 21 years, have voluntarily given up their free time over holiday and other peak traffic periods to provide a free medical and mechanical service to accident victims and stranded motorists and truckers who are caught by The Hill. Their sterling work has saved many a life.

Then there is a third group of people who know this spot so well. They are the people from N3 Toll Concession, which operates and maintains the N3 between Cedara and Heidelberg. Their efforts to make The Hill safer for all its users are commendable with millions of Rands being spent on road maintenance and improving road structures.

But what makes this spot so treacherous. What makes The Hill turn from Beauty into the Beast? According to Schnell, it's a combination of factors. "When motorists and truckers head off from Johannesburg to Durban, they do half the journey driving on what is essentially a flat, straight road. When they reach Van Reenen, however, everything changes. Apart from the bends and curves, the weather can differ dramatically from that experienced on the plateau. We get torrential rains, heavy mist, strong winds and even snow. South African driver can't adapt quickly enough to changing and challenging road conditions. They are often caught by these conditions," he says.

Adding to this is the fact that those who start their journey either in the early morning or mid-afternoon normally reach Van Reenen at either sunrise or sunset - a dangerous time in terms of driver fatigue.

Unlike the average motorist who only uses the road when going on holiday, truckers are on the N3 continuously - mainly at night as they load and offload during the day. They are the ones who really experience its treachery. And there are more and more of them going out there. According to Con Roux, N3TC's commercial manager, the N3 toll road has experienced a 15% annual increase in the volume of trucks on the route which translates into an additional 300 to 400 trucks using the road.

This huge volume of traffic is spread fairly evenly when the trucks are traveling smoothly. When a serious accident occurs and the road has to be closed, that's when you really get to see the sheer magnitude of the number of trucks out there.

"No route is more strategically important to South Africa than the N3 and when it is closed to traffic, the effect on supply chains is dramatic. We've stacked up between 600 to 1 000 trucks at a time," says Schnell. So not only is it important for drivers to take care for their own safety. It is also vitally important for the economy that the road stays open. The cost of having 1 000 trucks arrive late with their consignments because of one incident runs into many millions of Rands lost to operators and their customers.

Given all this, how are the truckers faring in handling The Hill? After having spent a night and a day in the area with CMS, the KZN cops and Con Roux from the N3TC, I saw much that can be worked on for improvement. Let's start with speed. Standing at the CMS Help Centre situated at the Caltex garage at Van Reenen, there were very few trucks coming through at the legal speed limit of 80kph. Most were doing at least 100kph with some roaring through the little village at 120kph. Standing watching this, I was at first amazed, then agitated, then downright angry. What is worse is that many of those drivers continue down The Hill at hair-raising speeds. 

Speed as an issue of concern was confirmed by Moira Thomson, one of the CMS voluntary workers. With 21 years experience of working on The Hill, she knows the dangers and when asked what truckers could do to lessen the risk of accidents, she was quick to reply: "Slow down. Some of them travel at ridiculous speeds with 120kph not being unusual. They are accidents just waiting to happen."

Schnell says that national statistics prove that 85% of accidents are preceded by a road traffic offence. "In an area like Van Reenen's Pass, the risks are higher so it is even more important that the rules of the road are obeyed," he says.

Apart from slowing down, Thomson says drivers should also get more sleep as driver fatigue is a major cause of accidents. "We have trucks stopping in front of our centre and when we talk to the drivers, they are exhausted having driven for long hours without rest. They then have a few hours of sleep - normally interrupted by the noise of passing trucks - and they head off again. Most of them are not in a fit state to drive. They need more time to relax and sleep."

This was confirmed later by Inspector Eugene Javu at a roadblock set up on the N3. "Drivers need to rest more. Some of the ones we pull over are safer off the road than on the road."

The third point she makes is for operators to ensure their trucks are in good condition - and most importantly, to ensure the right tools are on the truck to effect roadside repairs such as punctures. Also have an arrangement in place with a local service agent to attend to your breakdowns. "Some nights we have stood for up to three hours securing a truck from being hit by other traffic while we wait for a mechanic to arrive."

One may say that's a good time to sit around and relax - but not so for the CMS crew who go to the scene so as to secure the site and ensure the safety of the truck and other road users by placing out traffic cones and directing traffic around the scene. There have been many tragic 'secondary' accidents when vehicles have rammed into the back of broken down stationary vehicles on The Hill.

"I recall one incident when we were attending to a breakdown and we had a call for another breakdown further up The Hill. When we got there, a car had slammed into the back of the truck with tragic consequences," says Chippy Brown, another CMS volunteer who has been doing this work since Hull started 21 years ago.

Picture this in your mind - it's the reality. A broken down truck on the side of road in the middle of the night with dense mist, a wet, slippery road from an earlier downpour and heavy traffic coming through. Visibility is about 10 meters. It's miserable; it's dangerous. That's where you'll find the CMS volunteers, the KZN cops and the N3TC support crews putting their lives at risk to secure the safety of your truck and other road users by preventing a secondary accident.

Another piece of advice gathered from the experience of the CMS volunteers is for drivers to keep a safe following distance, especially in the rain. "The road gets very slippery when wet due to the amount of oil deposited on it by the heavy traffic. On one night we had two jack-knives and the road had to be closed," says Brown.

Now for some good news. According to Schnell, things have changed over the years. It is getting better. Unfortunately, this is not thanks to the improved driving habits of motorists and truckers but rather to the visible policing efforts of the KZN Traffic Inspectorate. For this, high praise can be given to Dave Steele, Chief Provincial Inspector, KZN Road Traffic Inspectorate, Ladysmith and his team of dedicated men and women who police this section of the N3.

I spent some time during the night and the next day at the road-side traffic court at the bottom of The Hill watching the cops at work and was most impressed - not only what they cops are doing to ensure road safety but more so with their positive attitudes towards their jobs and the road users. They are not the enemy. They are also not there just to hand out speeding fines - although speed trapping is a vital function for which they make no excuses (see points made above on speed). Rather they are dedicated to ensuring the safe passage of truckers and motorists through the province and spend many, many hours on the road - day and night - protecting the legal road users from the miscreants.

"We're now running 24-hours with visible policing. It works," is what one of the Inspectors proudly told me. On the point of attitude, it was interesting to note that the truck drivers stopped in the road block were in no ways antagonistic towards the cops. The antagonism, it seems, exists more between the operators and the cops and here is something interesting. Inspector Javu confirmed what one driver told me the day I spent with striking drivers in Johannesburg.

"We often have incidents where truck drivers will pull over to point out faults with their vehicle. They ask us to give them fines because they say when tell their bosses of the faults, the bosses take no notice and just send them out on the road again. They want the fines to force the bosses into fixing the problems,"

Those cops are doing a fine job. As for those unsung heroes of Community Medical Services, the work they do on The Hill truly deserves the highest accolade. As John Schnell says: "What is critical to survive a serious accident is what we call the Golden Hour. Treatment must be given within the first hour and the emergency services in this area cannot guarantee that. There is a small hospital near Harrismith but it no longer has a Trauma Unit so accident victims have to be casavacced to Bethlehem and this can only be done during the day. The other help comes from Ladysmith but that is far away and you don't know what will arrive because resources are scarce.

"Although we don't like to admit it, South Africa is a poor country and does not have the sophisticated medical and emergency services that other First World countries have. Given all this, Philip Hill and his team of volunteers from CMS are indispensable when it comes to saving lives and helping us secure accidents scenes. They do fantastic work," he says. FleetWatch, which has followed the efforts of CMS for many years, can confirm this.

Come have a look
There is so much more to tell but operators please take this seriously. The Hill is a killer. The people mentioned in this article are there to help but it's mainly in your hands. You have to manage it and on this point, after having spent time with the men and woman who know the conditions your drivers are facing, here is FleetWatch's suggestion

Every transport company whose drivers go either up or down The Hill - Van Reenen's Pass - should have a 'driving conduct policy' designed specifically for The Hill to which drivers have to adhere. If operators are interested, FleetWatch will organise a hands-on visit to the area and will have the right people from the N3TC, CMS and the KZN Traffic Inspectorate on hand to give you a guided tour so as to help you establish a policy for drivers operating on The Hill. The KZN cops have identified accident hot-spots throughout the province and The Hill is classified a high risk "RED' area.

If you would like FleetWatch to organise such a tour, please e-mail Patrick O'Leary at fleetwatch@pixie.co.za. If there are enough respondents, we will put it all together. I assure you, it will be worth your while.

In the meantime, let's all lift out hats in tribute to the men and women who risk their own lives to help save the lives of others. They are all heroes.