A small decline on road deaths dictates improved education
The Automobile Association (AA) has just released its review of the road deaths on South African roads for 2019 as expressed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) report.
And while the latter is slightly lower than in 2018 “it is still too high” the AA stated.
The official figures show 12 503 deaths in 2019 compared to 12 921 in 2018. The Association says among the interventions government can implement now are:
• Obtaining International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) star ratings of all roads in South Africa
• Instituting mandatory safety ratings on all new vehicle sales in the country
• Urgently reviewing and revising safety regulations for new vehicles in South Africa
• Introducing regulations that require ABS, ESC and two airbags as minimum safety standards on new vehicles
• Festive season policing all year long
• Drink driving weekend blitzes
• More focus on moving violations and better policing of child restraint usage, illegal device usage while driving, and speeding
• Reintroducing road safety education and driver training in schools
• Introducing a 30km/h speed limit in areas near schools.
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Forty per cent of fatalities are pedestrians. Considering that this figure has not changed much over the past 10 years, is indicative of the fact that not enough is being done to change the status quo. “Pedestrian and safety education needs to be addressed with much vigour,” the AA noted.
“The trajectory of road fatalities in South Africa may be declining but they are declining at such a slow rate that it will be impossible to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of halving road deaths and injuries by 2030.”
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“This is a national tragedy. The numbers do not tell the full story about countless families who have been destroyed and the financial devastation these deaths have caused,” said the AA.
The Association also further warned that fatality figures for 2020 will be significantly lower given the decreased traffic volumes during the national lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 coronavirus and concluded that the latter “will tell one story, but not give the entire picture”.
