The AA says it is encouraged by the decrease in the number of road fatalities during the recent festive period, but says road safety still requires urgent intervention.
On Tuesday, transport minister Fikile Mbalula announced that during the festive period from December 1 2022 to January 11 2023, 1,451 people died on SA roads. That figure would be a 14% reduction on the 1,685 deaths over the same period in 2021/2022.
However, the AA noted that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) listed 1,808 fatalities over the 2021/2022 period, not 1,685.
"This brings into question the accuracy of the numbers provided overall, an issue we have raised before. Secondly, the 1,451 fatalities is simply still too high, and cannot be regarded as a gain in terms of road safety,” the AA said
The Association says it remains concerned that traffic law enforcement is focused on seasonal campaigns — especially around Easter and the end-of-year holiday period — instead of being equally visible throughout the year.
Mbalula said unbuckled children and adults have been flung out of cars, resulting in serious injuries and deaths that could have been prevented. The minister said a 6.5% reduction in fatal crashes was recorded — 1,211 this year compared to 1,295 in the previous year.
“Minister Mbalula today noted that ‘enforcement continues to be a critical part of road safety’ but there is little evidence that traffic law enforcement is being bolstered in any way. In 2019, the government-appointed Traffic Law Enforcement Review Committee called for a doubling of the number of traffic law enforcers but to date there is nothing to suggest this recommendation has been implemented,” the AA said.
“The number of fatalities remains alarmingly high year on year and shows no signs of decreasing meaningfully. While we applaud the dedication of traffic law enforcers around the country, particularly during peak travel times, we believe an increase in funding and resourcing of traffic law enforcement is essential to ensure a significant drop in the number of crashes and fatalities."
According to Mbalula, most of the crashes in the past festive season occurred between Fridays and Sundays and from December 15-28, when 643 people died.
He gave the following provincial breakdown of road fatalities:
- Western Cape fatalities dropped from 207 to 131, a 36.7% reduction;
- Mpumalanga fatalities dropped from 189 to 144, a 23.8% reduction;
- Northern Cape fatalities dropped from 65 to 51, a 21.5% reduction;
- North West fatalities dropped from 119 to 94, a 21% reduction;
- Limpopo fatalities dropped from 226 to 179, a 20.8% reduction;
- KwaZulu-Natal fatalities dropped from 275 to 240, a 12.7% reduction;
- Eastern Cape fatalities dropped from 210 to 205, a 2.4% reduction;
- Free State fatalities dropped from 119 to 117, a 1.7% reduction
Gauteng fatalities increased from 275 to 290, a 5.5% increase.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.