225 people died on SA roads over Easter weekend

225 people died on the country’s roads over Easter long weekend, compared to the same period last year when 161 fatalities were recorded.

Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga made the announcement on Friday during a media briefing in Midrand, Johannesburg, on the Easter road traffic statistics.

Easter road traffic statistics

The total number of fatal crashes this year was 185 resulting in 225 fatalities, said Chikunga. During the same period last year, 135 fatal crashes resulted in 161 fatalities.

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“The top five traffic offences identified were speeding, driving unlicensed vehicles, driving without fastening seatbelts, driving without licences, and driving vehicles with worn-out tyres,” said Chikunga.

The statistics on gender classification showed that there was a decrease in female fatalities from 28% in 2022 to 19% in 2023. Male fatalities increased from 67% in 2022 to 70%.

Concerns over drunken driving

Chikunga said 1 716 drivers were arrested for excessive speeding, drunken driving, and reckless driving.

The minister said the worst drunken driving incident was recorded in the Harrismith CBD in the Free State when a driver recorded 1.16 milligrams of alcohol in 1 000 millilitres of breath.

“This was 4.8 times more than the legal limit of 0.24 mg in 1 000 ml of breath,” she said.

“The worst speedster was nabbed on the N1 near Lyttleton in Centurion, Gauteng driving at an excessive speed of 198 kilometres per hour in a 120-kilometre zone.”

Overall, 30 934 traffic fines were issued during the Easter period, with 430 vehicles discontinued because of road unworthiness.

1 625 vehicles were impounded for displaying invalid or fake discs and operating in violation of permits.

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