Easter weekend shows drop in road fatalities
Mbalula said 162 people died on South African roads this year compared to 235 last year, resulting from 134 fatal crashes this year compared to 189 the previous year.
The transport department said it was satisfied with its efforts to reduce road fatalities over the past Easter weekend.
This was after the 2022 statistics showed that fewer people were prosecuted for speeding, drunken driving, driving unlicensed vehicles and driving without seatbelts compared to previous years.
The statistics were released on Thursday by transport minister Fikile Mbalula.
The department has committed itself to reducing road fatalities by 25% by 2024.
Mbalula said 2 395 traffic fines were issued for speeding this year compared to 5 923 last year.
He said 3 494 motorists were fined for operating unlicensed vehicles compared to 5 677 the previous year.
A total of 2 134 drivers were fined for driving without seatbelts this year compared to 2 351 in 2021.
“The number of crashes also dropped by 28.6% resulting in a 31.5% decline in the number of fatalities on our roads,” Mbalula said.
As on 27 April 2022, we had produced a total of seven hundred and eighty-nine thousand six hundred 789,600 driving licence cards.
This leaves a backlog of cards to be printed at five hundred and ninety-six thousand five hundred and thirteen 596,513. pic.twitter.com/xn16cPcPnG
— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) April 28, 2022
Mbalula said 162 people died on South African roads this year compared to 235 last year, resulting from 134 fatal crashes this year compared to 189 the previous year.
“Most of the crashes happened on Friday and Saturday.”
He said other provinces also recorded a drop in road fatalities.
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– Gauteng had a 33.3% decline from 36 deaths the previous year to 24 this year.
– KwaZulu-Natal registered a 61.1% drop from 54 road deaths the previous year to 21 this year.
· Northern Cape registered a 57.1% decline from 7 road fatalities the previous year to three this year.
– Free State registered a 53.8% decline from 13 deaths the previous year to six this year.
– North West had a 45% drop from 20 deaths the previous year to 11 this year.
– Limpopo registered a 44.1% decline from 34 deaths the previous year to 19 this year.
– Eastern Cape reported a 25.9% decline from 27 deaths the previous year to 20 this year.
In Pretoria, the metro police intensified its operations mainly around the N1 Carousel Plaza but also across the capital.
“Improving our law enforcement capability and visibility, as well as upscaling public safety campaigns will continue to gain traction,” said Mbalula.
He said that driver competence remained one of the most important pillars of road safety interventions.
“Most fatalities occur at night. A new trend was noted this Easter with fatalities showing a sharp spike in the early hours of the morning between 04:00 and 05:00.”
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