KZN records most road fatalities during festive season
There were 289 road related fatalities in KZN between 1 December 2020 and 11 January 2021 compared to 366 in the previous festive period last year.
The province of KwaZulu-Natal had the most road fatalities during last year’s festive season with 289 people dying on the road.
This was revealed by Fikile Mbalula, Minister of Transport, as he released the 2020 Festive Season Road Statistics on Friday on the N12, Eldorado Park Pedestrian Bridge.
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The N3 near Harrismith, was listed as the country’s most dangerous road as it accounted for most of the crashes and fatalities.
Despite this, KZN also recorded a 14 per cent decline in road fatalities during the festive season as compared to last year.
There were 289 road related fatalities in KZN between 1 December 2020 and 11 January 2021 compared to 366 in the previous festive period last year.
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The decline in KZN was consistent with the national trend as 8 of the 9 provinces had fewer fatalities compared to last year, with only Mpumalanga registering a 4.4 per cent increase.
Overall, the country recorded a 7 per cent decrease in road fatalities compared to last year, a total 1 448 fatalities from 1 210 fatal crashes.
Mbalula said this was mostly down to the restrictions on movement and the alcohol ban instituted towards the end of last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“While the number demonstrates that the majority of South Africans respected the law and observed the curfew, a few intransigent motorists were on the road when they should not be. As a result 51.1 per cent of crashes happened during the curfew between midnight and 6am,” said Mbalula.
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