The Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison has raised serious concerns over the death tolls on the roads in the province.
This comes after two separate accidents claimed 16 in two days respectively.
According to the Department,ten lives were lost yesterday after an articulated truck collided head on with a Toyota Mini-bus on R23 Road between Balfour and Heidelberg.
“The number of deaths and injuries on the road does not only devastate families but are costly for the government and therefore drivers should prioritise their lives and that of other road users at all times, this is according to Mpumalanga,” said the MEC for the Department, Vusi Shongwe.
The Department has confirmed that all ten deceased were occupants of the mini-bus including the driver, seven seriously injured passengers of the taxi were rushed to Heidelberg Hospital.
The other accident left six people dead on R546 Road between Evander and Standerton on Sunday after two vehicles collided head on. Cases of culpable homicide are being investigated by the police for both crashes.
According to Shongwe, government spends a lump sum in assisting victims and survivors through Road Accident Fund, and a further strain is placed on the state’s health care facilities.
The MEC also bemoaned the loss of bread winners in these crashes saying that more families are becoming disintegrated and therefore the carnage on the road need to stop.
“Again, we are calling on everyone to exercise great caution when using the road because it is our view that some of these crashes could have been avoided,” said SHongwe.
He further added that his department will continue to implement various road safety initiatives across the province that includes rest stops that will assist long distance drivers to rest every two hours or 200km.
“We call upon law enforcement agencies not to spare on any negligent or reckless driving, not forgetting to urge the community members to report any reckless driving to the authorities so that appropriate steps are taken against any wrong doers,” he said.
The MEC has sent condolences to the bereaved families and wished those who were injured a speedy recovery.
