Road deaths in Gauteng continue to climb

An infant and a two-year-old toddler were among the 22 people killed in road accidents in Gauteng last weekend, as the province saw a spike in fatal car crashes.

The children were among six people who died on the N12 near the Golden Highway in a head-on collision.

Between January and October, the province has seen 2,155 road fatalities as compared to 2,077 during the same period last year.

The department of community safety’s Yusuf Bhyat attributed this to the failure of the media to emphasise the importance of correcting human behaviour on the roads.

Profiling Gauteng road fatalities at a two-day road safety seminar hosted by Gauteng roads and transport MEC Jacob Mamabolo, Bhyat said 90% of fatal crashes in the province were due to human factors.

“Almost all fatal accidents have an element of alcohol use. In some cases, drivers wore seatbelts and passengers didn’t.”

Gauteng’s three metro municipalities contributed 80% to road deaths. Tshwane had the highest motor vehicle fatalities, while Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni were leading in fatal pedestrian accidents, Bhyat explained.

“In Gauteng, seven people die per day on the roads – mostly on weekends. [Some] 48% of all road fatalities in the province are pedestrians.

“At the current rate, we will exceed last year’s total … if nothing drastic is done in the next two months.”

Mamabolo said his department was working on promoting Gauteng to be a province of smart mobility.

“We will attend to the issue of driver behaviour, which is the biggest contributor to high fatalities on the road… We will look at how to leverage technology to impact challenges and fatalities.”

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.