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All provinces recorded decreases in road accidents, except for the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy. Picture: GCIS
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says government remains concerned about the number of pedestrian deaths, despite a marked decrease in both road fatalities and accidents during the 2025 Easter period.
On Tuesday, Creecy released the Easter road safety report, which covered the period from 17 to 21 April.
Addressing the media, the minister announced that this year’s Easter weekend saw the lowest number of crashes and road deaths in the past three years.
“Crashes were reduced from 209 in 2024 to 141 in 2025, which is a 32.5% overall decrease compared to 2024,” the minister said.
Creecy indicated that all provinces recorded decreases in road accidents, except for Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga, which both saw an increase.
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Fatalities were also significantly reduced from 307 in 2024 to 167 this year.
This represented a 45.6% decrease.
“All provinces recorded decreases in fatalities except Mpumalanga, which recorded a 27.3% increase compared to 2024. Twenty-eight fatalities were recorded in Mpumalanga, compared to 22 in 2024,” she said.
The minister attributed the drop in accidents and fatalities to ongoing efforts by authorities nationwide, highlighting coordinated law enforcement and strong partnerships between government and civil society.
Creecy provided the provincial breakdown of Easter fatalities compared to the same period in 2024:
Eastern Cape recorded 28 fatalities, compared to 29 in 2024.
The Free State recorded seven, down from 12, while Gauteng dropped to 22 fatalities from 52.
KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) recorded 27, down from 47, and Limpopo had a sharp decrease to 13 fatalities from 81.
READ MORE: Easter weekend turns tragic as multiple accidents claim lives across SA roads
The Northern Cape saw six fatalities, down from 17.
North West recorded 14, compared to 21 last year. The Western Cape had 22 fatalities, compared to 26 in 2024.
The minister further said the 2025 Easter road safety campaign, which began on 20 March, will run until 4 May due to increased crash risks over long weekends, driven by drunk driving, more pedestrians, events, and heavier traffic.
Between 17 and 21 April, 177 584 vehicles were stopped and checked across the country, with 44 505 traffic fines issued, Creecy revealed.
A total of 2 018 vehicles were discontinued, while 1 536 were impounded.
Just over 940 people were arrested for drunk driving, and 89 were caught for excessive speeding.
READ MORE: Guns, booze and border busts: Limpopo’s 4 600 Easter arrests
In addition, 12 pedestrians were arrested for jaywalking, and eight drivers were caught attempting to bribe law enforcement officers.
According to Creecy, the highest recorded speed was 214 km/h in a 120 km/h zone on the Planknek stretch in Limpopo.
The highest recorded breath alcohol reading was in Tsolo, Eastern Cape, where a driver was found with an alcohol level of 2.38 milligrams per 1000 millilitres of breath.
Creecy said the Easter weekend road statistics highlight a broader improvement in road safety, with fatalities declining by 16% and total accidents down by 13% from January to March this year.
“This is an important achievement given the fact that in March, in particular, we have seen very excessive rains.”
Despite these positive trends, Creecy expressed alarm over the continued high number of pedestrian deaths.
She revealed that pedestrian fatalities now make up 47% — nearly half — of all road deaths.
“Fatalities involving pedestrians [are] now the single highest cause of road accident deaths,” the minister said.
“This shocking reality indicates that our message to pedestrians is not reaching home, and we have to do much more work at a local level where these accidents occur.”
Creecy reaffirmed government’s long-term goal to improve road safety outcomes.
She said the government is confident it can achieve its goal of cutting crashes and fatalities by at least 50% by 2029.
“Our challenge is to sustain this achievement daily, weekly, and monthly.”
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