State-owned Eskom on Monday said it had cut back on its coal-hauling times on the back of a recent spate of driver fatalities on Mpumalanga roads.
The trucking of coal to Eskom’s power stations, which was an around-the-clock operation, would be halted from 18:00 on Fridays to 06:00 on Sundays – the period said to have accounted for 36% of fatal road accidents.
Speeding, fatigue, poor visibility, road conditions, contravention of the rules of the road and alcohol were found to be some of the main factors contributing to the accidents over the past three years, Eskom noted, citing information sourced from the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison’s road safety and law enforcement division for the Gert Sibande district.
The majority of the coal-haul road network fell in the Gert Sibande district.
Over the past three months, Eskom consulted various stakeholders in the transport and coal-mining industry to review options to improve safety on the coal-haulage routes in Mpumalanga.
“This intervention will result in increased rest time for truck drivers and all transporters’ staff, which will aid in fatigue management and allow for regular intervals to conduct in-depth maintenance and mechanical performance testing of trucks to further minimise incidents resulting from mechanical failure,” Eskom said in a statement.
Last year, about 14-million tons of coal had been transported by Eskom’s contracted coal road-haulage companies, with another 20-million tons moved by companies contracted directly with mining companies that supply Eskom’s power stations.
All stakeholders, including the Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison, the Chamber of Mines and Eskom’s logistics and mining partners, would continue to review the implementation of this safety initiative to ensure that operations continue to run smoothly, Eskom concluded.