Road fatalities increase during festive season
Over 1 700 people died on the country’s roads over the festive season.
Releasing the figures on Tuesday, Transport Minister Dipuo Peters said from 1 December 2015 to 11 January 2016, 1 755 people lost their lives compared to 1 535 over the same period the previous year. This represents an increase of 14%.
The Department of Transport reported a record of 1 387 fatal road crashes compared to 1 253 crashes in 2014/15.
Minister Peters attributed the cause of deaths on the roads to human factors such as J-walking, excessive speeding, overtaking in the face of oncoming traffic, hit and run as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
The Minister said the law was going to get tough on those who flaunt the rules of the road.
“The reclassification of all road traffic offences to schedule five of the Criminal Procedure Act will receive high priority in our endeavour and quest for a mandatory minimum sentence for drunken driving; inconsiderate, reckless and negligent driving,” she said.
Minister Peters said her department was also considering putting in place measures to make sure that anybody who drives above the speed limit is arrested.
She said her department would leave no stone unturned in eradicating lawlessness on South African roads.
Other factors which contributed to the accidents included un-roadworthy vehicles, environmental factors such as sharp bends, wet surfaces and poor visibility.
Minister Peters said most crashes occurred on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with most crashes happening between 2pm and 11pm.
KwaZulu-Natal was the only province that recorded a decline in the percentage of fatalities (2%).
“In the period under review, we have stopped and checked 1.7 million vehicles, arrested over 6 000 motorists for drunken driving, 808 were for excessive speeding and discontinued 5 710 vehicles for being un-roadworthy and 419 for various traffic violations,” Minister Peters said.
The preliminary figures showed that the majority of people who died were passengers at 38.3%, followed by pedestrians at 34.9%, drivers contributed 23.9% of the fatalities and cyclists 2.8%.
The age group most affected by the accidents was 25 – 39 years. Children aged from zero to four years also contributed 10.4% to the deaths.
“Small vehicles accounted for 47.9% of total crashes during the festive season, followed by light delivery vehicles at 22.7%, mini buses or taxis stood at 10.1% and trucks contributed 4.8%,” Minister Peters said.
The department’s Director-General, Pule Selepe, said law enforcement alone was not enough to reduce the rate of fatalities on the country’s roads.
“We need compliance… Until we have a change of mindset that says road safety is everyone’s business, we will not overcome the carnage on our roads,” Selepe said. – SAnews.gov.za
