Holiday traffic picks up

Holiday traffic picks up The December holiday rush to the coast has started.

According to Sergeant Muzonimo Shituna, traffic has picked up significantly since 1 December, with about 700 vehicles passing the roadblock en route to Walvis Bay daily.

This number is expected to increase significantly as the festive season progresses.

The new roadblock at Aphrodite Beach between Walvis Bay and Swakopmund is in the ideal place, says Shituna. The checkpoint was constructed at a cost of N$4.6 million and was opened in June.

“The venue is much better safety wise compared to the previous one located a few kilometres from Walvis Bay. We have better control and enough space available to pull vehicles from the road and to conduct searches without holding up the rest of the traffic. The strategic location will also curb speeding.”

Officers stationed at the roadblock are on the lookout for drunk drivers. They also inspect driving licences, registration discs and road worthiness at the roadblock, which will be operational until January 2017.

Customs and Excise officials are also out in force checking vehicles and conducting searches for smuggled goods.

They ensure that that owners and drivers of foreign-registered vehicles have the required paperwork.

Annemarie Nowotes confirmed that one vehicle was pulled over and the driver was stopped from proceeding with his journey after it emerged that he had overstayed and the paperwork of the vehicle was not in order.

OTIS FINCK