THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

April 2009

The N3 is the busiest trucking road in Africa and with Harrismith being the midway point between Johannesburg, Durban and Bloemfontein, the town is a hub of activity for the local road transport industry. Approximately 4 300 trucks pass Harrismith everyday and hundreds of them overnight in the town. This causes a number of problems as, despite truck stop facilities being available, many drivers choose to sleep in their trucks in the town itself. 

Harrismith, just like any town, cannot handle the sheer volume of trucks and the trucks are causing major problems. Between 2:00 and 3:00 am, when the number of parked trucks is at a peak, it is near impossible to squeeze a car through the trucks even on McKechnie Street, one of Harrismith’s main roads. 

Small towns such as Harrismith were built when road transport was still heavily regulated. Payloads and axle masses were much lower than they are today and these towns were not built to handle the sheer volumes that many of them experience today. These smaller towns need to be preserved for historical value and tourism and as such, it is important that situations such as these are effectively sorted out. 

According to Gideon Cloete, incident manager of the N3 Toll Concession (N3TC), the truck drivers will often come into town to look for women, alcohol and a party, as well as food. “They should be resting but they don’t,” he adds. “Then they go and cause an accident on the N3 the next day.” The problem is not only in town then because while the illegally parked trucks affect Harrismith, they also affect safety on the N3. 

Harrismith residents have been up in arms about the damage being done to their infrastructure for many years now - and this is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the trucks severely damage their streets; secondly, eyesore barriers have been put up in a number of locations to try prevent the trucks from parking there; thirdly, and perhaps the most unfair reason, is that any measures taken to prevent or curb the problem is at the expense of the ratepayers. 

“Engineers did a survey here in January,” notes Ben Deysel, owner of Highway Junction, a truck stop in Harrismith. “The damage to the roads will cost R32-million to repair.” 

However, the residents of Harrismith will be pleased to know that something is being done about the situation. At 2:00 am on Thursday March 12th, a ‘sting’ operation took place in conjunction with the N3TC and the local traffic officials from Maluti- A-Phofung municipality, as well as provincial traffic police from Kestell, Phuthaditjhaba, Warden and Harrismith. 

The sting was a vast collaborative effort from the police and the N3TC and the operation successfully removed all illegally parked trucks from in and around Harrismith - of which there were approximately 350. A second sweep of the area cleared the 15 trucks that had illegally parked again and the operation came to an end at 5:47 am. 

Of the total, 220 of these trucks were in Harrismith itself, 107 of which were parked on McKechnie Street. The remaining 130 trucks were removed from the Caltex Monte Vista complex approximately 10 km north of Harrismith. 21 police officers were involved in total, including three commanders. 

	THE TEAM (from left to right) F Fernandez, Ms H de Bruin, L Maritz, S E Manyoni, K T B Ramokonopi, D M Tekelo, S A S Mabaso, T J Mashinini,Ms. M J Mofokeng, Ms. M V Mlaba, Ms. J M Moloi, O F Dladla, J M Tshabalala, Ms. P Ntjingila, N J Xaba, L J Tshabalala, and (front) G Cloete      TWO OF the team strutting their stuff checking out an illegally parked Mercedes Benz truck.

What is the answer? 

Sting operations such as this one could have a positive effect on the situation in Harrismith. However, it must be done on a more regular basis. “We express our deepest gratitude to the police services,” states Cloete, “but it has been months since we’ve done something like this.” 

According to Fonz Fernandez, specialist incident manager for Toll Care, a tender provider to the N3TC, operations such as these every week for five or six weeks would lead to the desired result. “Thereafter the drivers could be fined and this would send the message home that the town of Harrismith is not the place to park,” he adds. 

Furthermore, Deysel says somewhat draconian methods are being taken by the proposed building of concrete arches at the three main entrances to Harrismith which will prevent trucks from passing through. However, this will cost the ratepayers a further R3.2- million. Major structural changes will also need to be made to ensure that the trucks can turn around if they find themselves stuck at the barriers. “We should see these going up in the next three to six months,” says Deysel. 

This is a campaign by the local council and the acting director for spatial development at the Maluti-A-Phofung municipality, Cornel Fouche. It is hoped that these actions, in conjunction with a greater awareness of the situation, will build support for the Truck Safe campaign. 

Why does the situation exist? 

Many truck drivers complain that there is no space to park in the truck stops or that their bosses do not give them money to stay at a truck stop. However, there is space available and it often happens that the drivers are given money but choose to spend it on their own pleasures. Investigation over the following days showed that there were 139 open spaces at the Balmoral and Highway Junction truck stops alone. With a number of other stops in the surrounding areas, it is hardly feasible for the drivers to complain about a lack of space. 

So why do these drivers choose to avoid the truck stops and park illegally in the town? “If you can answer that question, I’ll be a millionaire,” remarks Deysel. There are two major factors involved in examining this question though. One is money and the other is management, although the two are very closely linked in this case. 

While many of the drivers spoken to complained that their bosses did not give them money to stay at a truck stop, this is not entirely true. Certainly there are some bosses who don’t cough up but many do and in such cases, rather than spend the money on a safe and sound night’s sleep, drivers choose to go into town for what is referred to as ‘meat and meat,’ or some food and drink and a prostitute. Ladies of the night roam the streets freely in Harrismith knowing that business will always be plentiful.

The management problem comes into play in terms of the operators simply not taking responsibility for their fleets. “Tighter controls are needed,” notes Deysel. It is very easy to monitor whether a driver stays at the designated truck stop but often this is just not done. The problem is a management one. 

Truck owners cannot simply clear their conscience by giving a driver R80 and telling them to stop at any truck stop they want to. Driver management is key in this issue and operators cannot put millions of Rand in the hands of the driver but not look after the heart and soul of the driver. 

A company such as Fuelogic is a thoroughly managed fleet and this is illustrated at the truck stops. The drivers are not allowed to drive past 11:00 pm or before 5:00 am and it is strictly monitored that they stay at Highway Junction. One the road, they must stop every two hours for at least fifteen minutes during which time they must perform a truck inspection. And all this is monitored by management. 

In conclusion 

With the ratepayers of Harrismith unfairly bearing the brunt of the illegal parking of trucks in their town, locals are hoping that more sting operations will be performed on a more regular basis and that the proposed barriers at the entrances to the town will be effective. However, one area that is out of their control is that of fleet and driver management. 

Coordination, communication and contribution is needed from all parties involved and hopefully, tighter controls on driver management and a more centralised system can come into play whereby drivers are more strictly prescribed where to stay. 

A combination of improvement in all factors involved in the illegal parking of trucks is the only way to improve the situation and in so doing, keep this hub - which is central to South Africa’s economy - running as effectively as it should be.