The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the MEC for Transport and Community Safety, Violet Mathye, to request urgent intervention to prevent further loss of life and injury at the “corner of death” on the N1 north of Makhado.
Another bus accident on Thursday morning 19 February 2026 confirms that this spot on the N1 north is currently too dangerous for large vehicles to pass safely.
The notorious 90 degrees corner is at the end of a long down-hill slope with a dangerous steep ravine on the western side.
It is shocking that after so many accidents and tragic loss of lives, absolutely nothing has been done to make the road safer.
The DA has demanded that:
- Cement block rails be constructed to prevent vehicles from crashing down the deep ravine
- Clear and timeous warning signs be erected at approaching ends of the corner
- Speed humps be constructed as a traffic-calming device
With Easter Weekend fast approaching, more fatal accidents are inevitable unless interventions are put in place.
Driver fatigue and negligence, overloading and speeding are not the only cause for cause accidents; treacherous road conditions contribute largely to our unacceptably high death toll.
The DA requested MEC Mathye to negotiate with SANRAL on the proposed interventions and to provide feedback – the loss of lives at the “corner of death’ is preventable and must be mitigated through swift government action.