Road death toll ‘preliminary’, AA cautions

While Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced “substantial progress” with a 10% decrease in the festive season road death toll, the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) has warned “the numbers given are preliminary”.

The minister released the department’s Festive Season Road Safety Report, which covered the holiday period, starting from 1 December and ending on 15 January.

He said the number of fatal road crashes was down by 3% from 1,438 in 2018-19 to 1,390 in 2019-20. This resulted in a 10% reduction in the number of fatalities, from 1,789 to 1,617.

He added the highest number of road deaths was in KwaZulu-Natal – 354. There were 254 in Gauteng and 217 in Limpopo. The Free State recorded a 35% reduction in fatalities – the biggest drop in the country – while Mpumalanga recorded a decline of 23% and Western Cape 19%.

Despite this, the AA warned that the numbers were “uncertain” because they were not the final audited numbers.

Spokesperson Layton Beard said: “At the same briefing last year, preliminary figures indicated that 1,612 people had died on the country’s roads between 1 December, 2018 and 9 January, 2019. The final audited figure – released for the first time today – jumped by 177 to 1,789 deaths.”

He said the reporting period was longer than the previous year and could not be regarded as final until 30 days after the cut-off date (15 January), necessary because people involved in crashes may die after that date.

“We certainly hope the figure is lower but to make an assertion now that there has been a 10% drop is premature and misleading. Only once the final figures have been released can a proper comparison and analysis be done. Until then, there cannot be claims of a job well done.”

Although the AA said it welcomed any reductions, it shared its dissatisfaction, saying “10% is not nearly enough”.

“Since 2009, close to 133,800 people have died on South African roads – with around 15,000 dying over the Christmas period alone.

“This is too many deaths. Efforts to reduce this number significantly need to be intensified, and programmes must be run year-long, not just during festive periods,” said Beard.

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