Festive season road deaths jump by 14%
More people died on South African roads during the recent festive season compared to the same period in 2020.
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula released the preliminary statistics on road crashes and violations.
He briefed the media at the Grasmere Toll Plaza on Tuesday.
A total of 1 685 people died during this period – which represents a 14% increase.
“There were more people on the road this festive season because were are at level 1 and the curfew was lifted,” said Mbalula.
“Indeed in 2020 the drop in the number of fatalities was due to the lockdown and travel restrictions”
“What is alarming is that we have had more fatalities per crash this year compared to the previous periods. This resulted in high passenger fatalities this year compared to the previous period. Passenger fatalities constituted 38% in the current period compared to the previous 32%,” he added.
The highest number of deaths were recorded in KwaZulu-Natal at 275, followed by Gauteng at 248.
Some 264 000 traffic fines were issued during the festive season, with more than 21 000 fines related to driving without a seatbelt and nearly 23 000 for driving without a valid licence.
“Driving under the influence of alcohol, failure to wear a seatbelt, excessive speeding, disregarding road conditions and signs reflect a negative conduct that contributes to fatalities on our roads.
“This is the reason why human factors contributed 79% to the occurrence of fatal crashes while road factors contributed 11% and vehicle factors 10%.
“A driver with the highest alcohol level of 2.43mg was arrested in Johannesburg on 22 December 2021,” said Mbalula
