Clarification: TRAC has no law enforcement authority on N4 road – Mozambique

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Clarification: TRAC has no law enforcement authority on N4 road – Mozambique

12:36 CAT | 27 Oct 2016

TRAC (File photo)

As a concessionaire Trans African Concessions (TRAC) is contracted to the South African and Mozambican road agencies (Sanral and ANE) and we have to operate within the confines of these contracts as well as the laws (road and other) of the two states.

In terms of accidents and criminal activities, TRAC has absolutely no law enforcement authority on the N4 Toll Route in SA or Mozambique. We are obliged to have daily route patrols and roadside/emergency assistance teams on the road at all times, which we do. These teams work in conjunction with our 24-hour helpdesk (which in Mozambique is based at the Maputo Plaza). The helpdesk was implemented by TRAC as an added benefit (not compulsory in terms of our contract) to the general public. The TRAC N4 helpdesk together with our response teams reacts to all calls relating to any incident, accident or emergency on the EN4. However, the main objective of these teams is to inform the relevant authorities about an incident/accident/emergency, and its particulars, while securing the road to prevent further disaster/secondary accidents and keep other road users safe.

In South Africa and in Mozambique, Incident Management Systems (IMS) should be a joint effort between the various emergency services of a particular state/province. These include Fire Departments, Ambulance Services, Traffic Police, etc. TRAC is merely a concessionaire – our job is to build, maintain and upgrade the road. We have no authority to act as Emergency Services. Therefore TRAC’s sole duty in the event of an incident/accident/emergency is to inform the relevant services, secure the specific scene and conduct traffic control together with the Traffic Police. Other emergency services (trained and efficiently equipped) should perform their designated duties (such as extinguishing fires by the Fire Department).

Furthermore, as stipulated in the concession contracts, TRAC is responsible to assist in the economic development of communities along our road. For this reason TRAC may also outsource certain services which include some of those mentioned in your article. In view of this it would not make sense for us to have the high-tech, emergency equipment mentioned in the article. By no means does TRAC view buying specialised equipment as a waste of money – in fact in the long run it probably would be more cost effective for us, however we have to abide by, and respect, our 30 year concession regulations.

In addition, it is also normal practice in both South Africa and Mozambique for truck operators to arrange their own service providers for cleaning up of spills/towing of their vehicles as vehicle owners remain responsible for any damages and costs incurred to the road and by TRAC for secondary services such as towing. For this reason drivers involved in incidents/accidents often decline to have TRAC call in a towing service, preferring to wait for their own contracted towing company.

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All our staff, in both countries, are passionate about the highway they operate on, the company they work for and especially, the people they serve. Keeping the road and its users save is everyone at TRAC’s priority. However, we can only do as much as we are permitted to do.

Source: TRAC