Death toll rises to 47 on KZN roads this Easter
In 2020, there were just six fatalities recorded during the same period when the country was under level 5 of the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown.
WITH an influx of motorists on KwaZulu-Natal roads over the Easter weekend, a total of 47 fatalities were recorded, resulting from 37 crashes in various parts of the province between 1 and 4 April.
This is a hefty increase from last year’s figures. In 2020, five crashes resulting in six fatalities were recorded during the same period when the country was under level 5 of the Covid-19 nationwide lockdown. During the same period in 2019, a total of 31 crashes resulting in 40 fatalities were recorded in KZN.
This according to KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison, Neliswa Peggy Nkonyeni who said empirical evidence revealed that most accidents on the road are as a result of human behaviour such as speeding, overloading and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Also read: Limit movement over Easter weekend, urges KZN Health MEC
“Road fatalities are a major concern to the provincial government; however, it takes each individual to play their part in curbing the high rate of accidents that occur each year on our roads. No matter how many law enforcement officers we may deploy, we can never be able to police every aspect of motorists’ behaviour, so this calls for us to individually take responsibility for our actions when we get behind the steering wheel. We wish to express our deepest condolences to the families of the 37 people who lost their lives in these horrific accidents that occurred over the past three days. We also wish those fighting for their lives in hospital a speedy recovery,” said Nkonyeni.
The motorist with the highest alcohol content was arrested in Scottburgh and his alcohol reading was 2,68 mg/l, which is 11 times over the legal alcohol limit.
Also read: WATCH: Durban ready to host 42 000 visitors this Easter weekend
Furthermore, the highest speed recorded was on the N2 near Mtunzini in the Empangeni Region where a motorist was caught driving at 170 kilometres an hour in a 120 kilometre zone.
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