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Johannesburg, South Africa — Despite government efforts to introducing road satey plans beginning of December 2024, there has been a 3% increase in accidents and fatalities during this festive season, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy revealed Thursday (December 19).
“It is unfortunate to report to you today, that despite all the work that we’ve been doing, there has been an increase in (road) accidents, also an increase in fatalities; 3% increase in serious accidents, with a total of 426 crashes that involve fatalities since the 1st of December,” the Minister said.
512 People have died on our roads, which amounts to a 3% increase this year compared to 2023, she added. What is deeply concerning is that 45% of these fatalities are pedestrians.
Furthermore, Gauteng, KZN, Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Limpopo were found to account for 70% of recorded road fatalities so far.
The devastating findings were announced during a media briefing earlier on the day by the Minister Creecy, together with her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, where they were providing updates on road safety statistics, enforcement measures, and progress in ensuring safer roads during the festive season.
At the beginning of this Festive Season, the Transport Department launched a road safely plan, which involved the deployment of 1200 national traffic police officers across the country to 20 identified hotspots, “which over the years have seen the largest number of accidents,” Minister Creecy said.
the Transport Ministry has also worked together with provincial counterparts to ensure consistent and maximum deployment of all provincial road traffic office.
Below are remedial action to stabilise the road accidents rate the department has taken together with provincial transport MECs, traffic management authorities following a meeting on Tuesday:
- The department will decide its forces between 20 major hot spots will be divided and the secondary roads
- Provincial authorities will tighten up their relationship, in particular with the Metro Police to ensure the roads are effectively patrolled, mainly the roads between settlements where pedestrians are crossing at night. The department has so far arrested 98 pedestrians for crossing roads in unsafe places. This is a step in the right direction given that in South Africa, the burden of crashes on the health system and society is particularly high – with pedestrians accounting for 43% of those killed on the road, according to a 2024 report by PubMed Central.
- Local Municipalities will also step up road blocks to test drivers for alcohol consumption.
- Provincial authorities are moving away from static road blocks to mobile patrols and mobile violation interventions.
