DURBAN - MINISTER of Transport Fikile Mbalula has said the government was concerned about the 142% spike in crashes which have caused multiple deaths on roads across the country.
On Wednesday, Mbalula released the preliminary festive season fatality statistics where he said although the number of fatalities has declined by 3.1% compared to 2020, the human factor remained the main cause of most crashes during this period.
Provinces that saw a decrease in fatalities were KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the Eastern Cape.
KZN recorded a decline of 24.3% in fatalities from 173 fatalities in 2020 to 131 over the same period this year.
“We are seriously concerned about the high number of major crashes where five or more people perish in a single incident,” said Mbalula.
He said the number of fatalities from major crashes increased from 34 last year to 111 this year over the corresponding period.
“Statistics reveal that people who died on our roads this year were passengers at 35%, followed by pedestrians at 34%, drivers at 26%, motorcyclists at 1% and bicycle riders at 1%.
“Despite these grim statistics, it is important to note that thousands of road users continue to respect the law and obey the rules of the road. This is a responsibility we must all take seriously in order to make a difference and ensure that our roads are safe to travel on,” Mbalula said.
Vehicle types that were mostly involved in fatal crashes included minibuses, light delivery vehicles and trucks.
He added that most fatal crashes happen during the early hours of the morning and early evening between Friday and Sunday.
“We have also begun to see increasing numbers of travellers on our roads. This results in a high number of traffic violations, particularly those associated with drunk driving, speeding as well as reckless and negligent driving.”
The worst drunk driver, caught on the N2 North at Winklespruit in KZN, had a breath alcohol reading of 1.95mg per 1 000ml of breath.
Mbalula said 1 561 vehicles were taken off the road, with 1 820 impounded and 2 639 drivers arrested for various offences.
Daily News