106 lives lost due to road accidents in KZN since level 1 – Zikalala

Road fatalities have increased in KwaZulu-Natal since the commencement of lockdown Level 1 with 106 people killed, said Premier Sihle Zikalala on Sunday.

“Since the commencement of Level 1, we have lost over 106 people, including last nights accident. The trend is that crashes have increased as we downscaled to lower levels. There are 77 car crashes reported since 21 September to date,” he said.

Zikalala was speaking at his Sunday briefing to give an update on Covid-19.

He said that some of the vehicles involved in accidents were “high-carrying capacity vehicles such as minibus taxes and high impact vehicles such as trucks”.

“We are still licking our wounds from the Wartburg accident [which claimed 13] and then last night’s accident [which claimed 13].”

News24 reported a deadly crash in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, where 13 people from the same family who were travelling in a taxi were killed.

‘Hard line’

The family were travelling back home after attending a traditional ceremony. Three survivors who sustained injuries have been admitted to hospital.

Zikalala appealed to motorists to remain cautious, especially as the bustling December period is around the corner.

“As we continue adopting a hard line to enforce safety on the roads, which we will strengthen even more as we approach the holiday festive season, we once again appeal to motorists to play their part by adhering to the rules of the road.

“No matter how many law enforcement officers we may deploy, we can never be able to police each and every aspect of motorists’ behaviour. At some point, we all need to take individual responsibility for our actions when we get behind the wheel.”

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