The breakdown of casualties is as follows:
- Pedestrians – 21
- Passengers – 13
- Drivers – 07
- Motor bikers – 02
- Cyclists – 01
“The number of pedestrians killed included two 7 year old boys and one 8 year old girl. Nine of the 21 pedestrians killed lost their lives on the freeways. Three on N3, three on N12 and three on R21,” said Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, EMPD spokesperson.
He said based on the physical evidence on the accident scenes, the fatal accidents can be attributed to drunk driving, excessive speeding, reckless and negligent driving, bad demeanor and attitude of drivers and failure on part of pedestrians to take proper care and crossing of the freeways.
“In terms of categorization of accidents according to types of roads, 24 were killed on national roads (including 10 pedestrians), seven on provincial roads and 13 on CBD/suburban roads.”
Fatal accidents comparison with previous years are as follows:
- Dec 2015 > 35 people killed
- Dec 2016 > 36 people killed
- Dec 2017 > 44 people killed
He said summonses issued totaling 4,653 were for documentation, equipment on vehicles, defects and moving violations.
- Arrested
A total of 207 drivers were arrested for drinking and driving. Eighteen drivers were arrested for excessive speeding.
“A total of 58 complaints were received via the EMM Control Centre involving fireworks to which the metro police responded and either gave a verbal warning or found the places quiet.”
