Highway death trap as North Coast N2 death toll reaches 46

Two more deaths on the N2 on Monday have again raised concerns about road safety on the North Coast.

Two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 30s, were killed when they were struck by a truck while stopped on the side of the road near Zinkwazi.

According to IPSS Medical Rescue’s Dylan Meyrick, a taxi carrying 14 people had broken down in the southbound lane and pulled over.

A car with two people stopped behind it to help.

The car was hit from behind by the truck, killing the driver and injuring the passenger.

One of the taxi passengers who was standing in the road was also killed in the collision, while seven passengers in the taxi were badly injured.

It has taken the tally of accident-related deaths on the North Coast portion of the N2 between Umdloti and Mandeni to at least 46 this year.

This is not an exhaustive list as localised accident statistics are not released by the transport department, but rather a round-up of accidents the Courier has heard about via paramedics and police.

Of those 46 deaths, six were pedestrians while the rest died in crashes.

In addition, at least 169 people were badly injured.

That is all in just a 90km stretch of road which is proving increasingly dangerous.

Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) year-end statistics for countrywide road deaths in 2022 place KwaZulu-Natal second behind Gauteng.

There were 1 998 fatal crashes across the province, of which 52% were pedestrian deaths.

If provincial and local numbers continue at a consistent rate, the North Coast stretch of highway will account for around 2.7% of provincial road deaths this year.

That despite accounting for just 0.35% of the provincial road length.

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